Sunnydale Elementary
by margie
Summary: Ch 16 Up Hi Remember me? Here's another chappie, still summer...The gang gets together at the park playground.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Okay – I'm still in the middle of writing my Tabula Rasa fic, but I had to stop and write something happy. I have been so depressed over the turn of events on Buffy that I need to pretend that there is still some good Buffy /Spike happiness out there.  
  
This is my own little AU world. A what if all the gang had met in elementary school story. Spike is obviously not a vamp or he wouldn't be able to have recess! All the gang is there except for Dawn.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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Buffy didn't like this place. She wanted to go home. Why did they have to move? She missed her best friend Allison.  
  
Her mom helped her out of the jeep and she looked around. There were lots of kids playing on the playground. There was one boy standing by himself in the corner and shuffling his feet. Buffy giggled. He had spikey hair!  
  
As she watched him, he looked up and noticed her staring. His eyes got narrow and his eyebrows scrunched up and he stuck his tongue out at her!  
  
Buffy was so mad! Here she was just minding her own business and he's all mean! She turned away when her mom tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Buffy, say hello to your new teacher…Mr. Giles"  
  
"Hello Giles." Buffy said sweetly.  
  
"Mr. Giles, Buffy!" Her mom looked annoyed.  
  
"Oops sorry! Hello Mr. Giles." Buffy put on her "who me? I'm innocent" face.  
  
"Don't worry about it Mrs. Summers. I'm sure Buffy will get along here just fine." He looked down at Buffy and smiled. "Why don't you go play until the bell rings for class? I'll come and find you and show you to the classroom."  
  
Buffy scampered away calling goodbye to her mom as she looked for something or someone interesting. She decided to go tell that meanie what she thought of him but by the time she found him again he was with two other little girls. She didn't think she could take all three of them. So instead she veered off to the jungle gym.  
  
She started climbing and when she reached the top she saw a little boy with brown hair staring at her. "Hi." Buffy looked down shyly. She was new after all.  
  
"Hello pretty eyed girl…uhm…I mean….pretty high girl. Yeah! You're pretty high on the jungle gym."  
  
"Oh! I think that's why my mom calls me a tomboy. Cause I climb like a boy and some other stuff too." She wiped her hand on her jeans and held it out for him. "My name's Buffy."  
  
"My name's Alexander, but everyone just calls me Xander." They shook hands and swung their legs out as they sat and looked out over the playground.  
  
"Hey. Here comes Willow. She's my bestest friend. I bet she'd be friends with you too." Xander was talking a mile a minute as he climbed down the gym, Buffy following.  
  
By the time they reached the ground Willow was waiting for them at the bottom. She had long red hair and a pretty flower print dress on. When Xander let of the gym, Willow threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. "Hi Xander!"  
  
"Hi Wills. This is Buffy. She's new." He pointed at Buffy as she came down next to him.  
  
"Uhm. Hi." Willow held out her hand and Buffy shook it. "Are you in third grade too? If you want I can help you catch up. I'm good at school. Mom says I'm a genius. But I don't believe her. I think all moms have to say things like that. But I am pretty good...I think. Am I talking too much?"  
  
Buffy giggled. She liked this Willow girl. She hoped that she could be friends with her and Xander. It would be nice to have some friends.  
  
She smiled at Willow and gave her a hug. "No. You're not talking too much. And I bet you are a genius! Better than me anyway. I'm not so good with school."  
  
"Well I'll help you…We could start – " Just then the bell rang and they headed towards the school building. Mr. Giles was waiting for them at the door so that he could show Buffy the way.  
  
"I see you've met Willow and Xander. That's good. I'm sure they will both be very helpful in showing you around the school." Mr. Giles ushered all the kids in and led Buffy to room 12.  
  
When she entered the room she saw that Xander and Willow were sitting together, Xander behind Willow in the second row of chairs. She was relieved to see that there was a free seat next to Willow in row 1. She wanted to be near her new friends.  
  
Before she could sit down, Mr. Giles had her stand in front of the class and tell them about herself. She was nervous because she didn't know anyone except for Xander and Willow. So she just looked at them while she spoke.  
  
"I'm from Los Angeles. My mom got a new job so we moved. I'm in the third grade - "  
  
"Well duh! Otherwise you wouldn't be in this class!" The spikey haired boy had interrupted her!  
  
"William James Giles! You apologize this instant! And then go stand in the corner for five minutes!"  
  
The spikey haired boy was Mr. Giles' son!! Buffy was shocked. He was so mean and rude. And Mr. Giles was so nice. But they did both talk in a funny way.  
  
"Sorry Da." William stood up from his seat but before he could move into the corner his dad stopped him.  
  
"Not to me. Apologize to Buffy." Mr. Giles was looking sternly at his son.  
  
"Ah Dad!" William did not want to apologize to some stupid girl. And in front of the whole class! But his dad would not let him go until he did, so he spat out a quick "Sorry!" before heading for the back corner.  
  
When she finally took her seat, she found that William was sitting behind her! Darn! She hoped he wouldn't bug her too much. She looked across at Willow and smiled. She noticed that one of the girls who had been with William was sitting next to her and the other one was next to Xander. They looked nice enough but she wasn't sure if they were friends with HIM.  
  
Mr. Giles started writing something up on the board. Willow was taking notes and Xander was staring off into space. Buffy winced has her head was tugged backward. She turned in her chair and stared menacingly at William.  
  
"Stupid Goldilocks!" William stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
Buffy's fist balled up and swung at his shoulder. "Quit it spike head!" God he was such a meanie!  
  
"William! Buffy! Stop that this instant and pay attention."  
  
Muttering under their breaths they turned to face the class.  
  
"Stupid barfhead boys!"  
  
"Dumb butthead girls!" 


	2. Nicknames

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Thanks for the reviews! Here's chapter 2!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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Anya looked up to find Tara looking down at her. She smiled and said "Hi Tara! Do you want to count my money with me?" She was busy sorting the money out of her Barbie cash register.  
  
Tara smiled and sat down next to her. "No thanks, I just wanted to sit with you. Where's William?"  
  
Anya pointed to the other side of the playground. Tara looked over and saw him sitting under a tree. He liked the shade. That was one of his favorite spots. Tara also noticed Willow sitting on a bench near William. She looked like she was looking through a book or something. She liked Willow. She was super smart and she was always there if Tara needed help with one of her projects.  
  
She decided to go say hi to Willow, but as she walked over she saw Xander and the new girl Buffy coming over. She decided to go say hi to William instead.  
  
"Hi Will'um! C –can I sit with you?"  
  
"Sure ducks." William waved her to sit down. She giggled.  
  
"Will you're so funny! You call me the funniest things!" She smiled at him and sat. "Why were you sitting here alone?"  
  
"Didn't feel like counting An's money. So I just came over to sit." While he spoke Will looked over to watch Buffy chatting with Willow and Xander. Tara noticed and asked, "Will? Why don't you like Buffy? She seems like a nice girl. And Willow likes her." She added.  
  
Will blushed and looked down. "Got nothing 'gainst Goldilocks. She's just got all that Goldilocks hair. It's all shiny and long and I can't help it if I have to pull it!! She's the one who sat in front of me!"  
  
Tara laughed. Will looked so tortured. Like he really couldn't help it. "Okay. Well maybe you should go over and say sorry. I'm sure she'll be friends with you if you do." She gave him a little push.  
  
Willow and Xander had gotten up to go to the water fountain. But Buffy wasn't thirsty, so she decided to sit and look through the pictures in Willow's book. While she was reading a shadow fell on her and she looked up. It was William!  
  
"Hi spike head."  
  
"Hi Goldilocks."  
  
Will stood there looking down at her and not saying anything else. And Buffy sat looking up at him waiting to see what he wanted. Will finally sat down on the far side of the bench. He didn't want to get too close and get her cooties.  
  
"Uhm…Tara said I should say sorry for pulling your hair." He said quietly, looking away.  
  
"Well you should you big meanie!" Buffy shoved him and he toppled over onto the playground floor.  
  
Will was so mad! He came over to be nice and say sorry and she just pushed him for no reason! "Well I'm not sorry you big dumb Goldilocks girl!!" He was standing now and giving her his "I'm mad at you" face.  
  
"I knew it spike head! I knew you couldn't be nice for even one second!" She was standing now too and holding her hands on her hips.  
  
Willow and Xander found them huffing and puffing at each other when they got back from the water fountain. Immediately Xander stepped up and stood in front of Will.  
  
"What are you doing? Leave Buffy alone!"  
  
"Go away monkey boy! I'm talking to Goldilocks!"  
  
"Quit calling me that spike head!" Buffy was almost ready to cry. He was so mean!! Why didn't he like her?  
  
"No! You're new name is Goldilocks! Ha!" That would teach her! Why did she keep having to call him spike head? He couldn't help the way his hair stuck up.  
  
"Fine! Then I'm going to call you Spike! Because you're a big spike head!" Buffy stuck her lower lip out in her classic "you made me pout" face.  
  
Xander and Willow watched them yell back and forth at each other until they all heard the recess bell ring. Willow grabbed Buffy's hand and started leading her toward the school building.  
  
"See you later Spike!" She stuck her tongue out at him in parting.  
  
"Whatever Goldilocks!" He shouted back. 


	3. Mother's Day

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Well just felt like writing some more happy fluff. Enjoy!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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"Okay children. Since Mother's Day is this Sunday we are going to make some Happy Mother's Day cards." Mr. Giles was in front of the classroom holding a piece of construction paper.  
  
Willow was watching intently. She always paid attention in class. Once Mr. Giles was done showing them how to fold their paper to look like a card he started passing out all the construction paper to the children. Willow got a red piece, Xander got a blue piece, and Buffy got a pink piece. She was so excited. She turned to Buffy who was staring straight ahead trying to ignore the constant thwapping she was getting from William's piece of black paper. She obviously didn't want to get in trouble with Mr. Giles again.  
  
"William stop it! Leave Buffy alone!" Willow whispered under her breath.  
  
"Sorry Red. Couldn't help it." - "Willow that's not his name! Call him Spike!" William and Buffy said at the same time.  
  
Buffy turned around and they both stuck their tongues out at each other. She turned back to Willow and said, "So what are you going to put on your card Willow?"  
  
"Well…she likes flowers…and ooh! hearts! What about you?" Willow was busy folding her piece of paper in half to look like a card.  
  
"Uhm. Don't know. I guess my mom likes flowers. " Buffy was trying to fold her paper too, but it didn't come out as straight as Willow's.  
  
Willow started laughing when she looked over at Xander. His piece looked more like a triangle then a card and he had marker on his chin!  
  
Xander looked up. "Huh? What's so funny?" His tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth as he tried to color in the yellow sun he drew at the top of his card.  
  
"Xander, can I borrow your green?" Anya tapped him on the shoulder as she spoke.  
  
Xander blushed. "Uhmm…Sure..sure…Anya….uhm….here." He shoved the marker at her.  
  
"Thank you Xander. You can have it back so you can draw money for your mommy too." She smiled at him before she bent down to continue making her card.  
  
Tara giggled. "An why do you like money so much? Why don't you put some hearts or something on there?" Tara was coloring some daisies she had drawn on her card.  
  
"Why would mom want hearts? Money is better. You can do lots of things with money. Everybody likes money!"  
  
Tara laughed and caught Willow smiling at her. "H-hey Willow. I l-like your card." She stammered.  
  
"Thanks. Your daisies are pretty." They both looked down shyly.  
  
Buffy looked behind her and noticed that William , no Spike, wasn't doing anything with his card.  
  
"What are you doing barf breath? Why aren't you making your card?" Buffy was coloring in all the big hearts she had placed on hers as she spoke. She heard him mumble something back to her but couldn't understand what he said. "Huh? Talk louder spike head!" She said absentmindedly.  
  
"I don't have a mum!" He practically yelled at her.  
  
Oh no! Buffy felt horrible. How could anyone not have a mom? Her eyes got big as she tried not to cry. "I'm sorry!! What happened?"  
  
"She died when I was a baby." Spike sniffled. She saw that his eyes were getting big too.  
  
"William. Come up here please." Mr. Giles was calling.  
  
Spike stood up and walked to the front of the class where his dad was waiting.  
  
"Class please continue making your cards. We will be right back." Then he took Spike and stepped out of the room.  
  
Buffy couldn't stop thinking about poor Spike. She would be so sad if she didn't have her mom! As she finished her card she got an idea. She grabbed his black piece of paper and folded it as straight as she could. Then she drew some trees and stick people playing on one side of the card. One of the stick people had short spikey hair and the other had long yellow hair. She drew a sun and some clouds and made the rest of the sky blue. Then on the other side of the card she put some happy faces and carefully wrote – "Sory, Buffy". She wasn't too good at spelling but she thought she got it right.  
  
Before she put the card back on his desk she wanted to write his name on it but she didn't know how to spell it. So instead she drew a happy face with some spikey hair on the front of the card so he would know it was for him. Just as she put the card back on his desk the bell rang for the end of the day.  
  
Mr. Giles and Spike came back in and told them it was okay to leave. Buffy ran out of the classroom clutching her card and looking for her mom.  
  
When William got back to his seat he noticed the card sitting there. He was mad because he thought Buffy was making funny of his hair again. But when he opened the card his eyes got big. She drew him happy pictures! His dad was calling him to leave, so he carefully took the card and stuffed it into the little folder he had in his backpack.  
  
"I'm glad you're feeling better William" Mr. Giles said as they walked out of the room holding hands. 


	4. Field Trip

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Thanks for the reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy =)  
  
Well the first few chapters are all going to be B/S fics because I love them! I don't care what happens in the real Buffyverse. But I will try to get around to doing all the couples! And almost all the gang will be in every chapter.  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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Xander was one of the last to walk into the big museum. "Holy moly! Those are some big bones!" He said pointing at the T-Rex in front of them. Willow and Buffy laughed.  
  
Anya overheard Xander's exclamation and smiled. He was such a silly. Of course they were big bones. They were dinosaur bones! She shook her head as she turned to listen to Mr. Giles.  
  
"Okay everyone! Line up in two lines please. That's it. Hurry up now." Mr. Giles was trying to straighten the children out before their tour guide showed up.  
  
They were waiting patiently, as patiently as third graders can be anyway, when their guide came in. He was wearing a red jacket and a funny hat.  
  
"Okay. Before the tour starts everyone needs to hold hands with the person next to them. That way nobody can get lost. Okay?" Mr. Giles was anxious because he didn't want any problems while they were on this trip.  
  
"Oh no!" Bufy thought. Spike was standing next to her in the other line! She would have to hold his hand!  
  
As it happened Anya was next to Xander and Tara was next to Willow. So all six of them had to hold hands with each other as they started to move to the next room. Willow and Tara just smiled at each other and kept walking. Xander was looking down at the floor so he wouldn't trip while he was holding Anya's hand. And Anya was telling Xander how she thought they should be charging for this kind of thing, because she bet they could make lots of money!  
  
William was trying to ignore the fact that he was holding Buffy's hand. He was a little embarrassed about the thing with Mother's Day. Not only did she almost see him cry, but then she was all nice and sorry about it!  
  
Buffy thought that Mr. Giles was doing it on purpose! First they end up sitting together in class and now they have to hold hands! At least she got to stick close to Willow and Xander, who were walking in front of her in line. Soon she forgot about it and just listened to the tour guide tell them stories about what the dinosaurs did when they were still alive. She barely even noticed Spike. She was still mad at him anyway. I mean, he didn't even say thank you for the card she made him! But she couldn't be too mad because she still felt bad about his not having a mom. But at least he got to spend all day with his dad! Her dad had gone away and she hardly ever got to see him.  
  
Buffy had gotten a little sad at thoughts of her dad. She was quiet for awhile and not really paying attention. William noticed her quietness and looked over at her. He saw her staring at the ground and wondered why she looked so upset.  
  
"What's wrong Goldilocks?" He whispered.  
  
"Nothin'." She looked up and began watching the guide again, but her heart wasn't in it. William could tell that she was still sad, so he gave her hand a little squeeze. When Buffy looked up he smiled at her.  
  
Buffy smiled back automatically thinking - "Spike smiled at me!"  
  
Soon it was lunch time, and they all got to sit down by the T-Rex and take out their sack lunches. Xander had some chocolate pudding and a turkey sandwich. Just as he was about to bite into it he heard a funny noise. He looked over and saw Anya crying. He walked over to her still holding his sandwich.  
  
"What's wrong Anya?" She looked so upset. And Xander wasn't good with crying girls.  
  
"I * sniffle * dropped * sniffle * my * sniffle * sandwich!" Anya wiped her nose with her shirt sleeve.  
  
Xander looked around. Where were Tara and William? Why weren't they helping her? "Uhm…you can have my sandwich." He held it out to her.  
  
"Huh? Don't you want it?"  
  
"No. Uh…I'm full. Yeah I ate already. And I still got some left anyway." Xander stammered as she took the sandwich. He couldn't let her keep crying!  
  
"Oh. Okay thanks!" She smiled up at him, wiping away the last of her tears. Just then Xander heard Tara and William coming. Before stupid "Spike" could say anything to him he wanted to get away, so he turned quickly and started walking.  
  
Before he could leave completely, Anya had grabbed his arm and jumped up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks Xander. You're my hero!" She smiled again before sitting back down. Xander blushed all the way back to his seat next to Willow.  
  
After lunch they all got back into line. Xander holding a grateful Anya's hand. She kept looking over and smiling at him. And he kept looking down and blushing.  
  
Their next stop was the I-MAX theater. Mr. Giles said they were going to watch a movie about what the dinosaurs used to do when there weren't any people around yet. Buffy thought that was silly. How could there not be any people around? Mr. Giles was funny.  
  
When they got to the movies Buffy found herself sitting in between Xander and Spike. As the show started Xander heard Buffy say "Oh! I didn't know they were so huge! They're kind of scary."  
  
"Don't worry Buffy. I'll protect you!" Xander patted her on the shoulder.  
  
William just smirked. What a ponce! Buffy didn't need him to protect her!  
  
"Goldilocks doesn't need your protection monkey boy!" The two boys snarled at each other.  
  
Buffy wasn't really paying attention to the boys. She was watching the show and wondering how anything could grow up to be so big! When she saw the T-Rex come crashing through the woods and roar she turned away quickly and found her face in Spike's shoulder. But at the moment she didn't care. She just didn't want to see the scary dinosaur!  
  
William wondered what he was supposed to do. He could tell she was scared, but it was just a movie! "Girls are crazy!" He thought as he patted Buffy on the head. "Calm down Goldilocks. It's just a movie."  
  
Buffy looked up and said "I know that spike head!" She was embarrassed that she had accidentally turned his way when she got scared. But when she turned back to the screen it was to see the great big T-Rex chasing another dinosaur that was littler and trying to get away.  
  
Buffy let out an "Eep!" and turned her head again – right into Spike's shoulder!  
  
Well now what? She had buried her face into his shoulder again! "Okay. Okay. I said it was just a movie!" Spike was patting her head once more. This time Buffy just let him because she was afraid to turn back to the screen again.  
  
William felt kind of proud that Buffy kept turning to him. Even though Xander was the one who said he would protect her. When he felt her calm down a little he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Uhm…Thanks for the card." And then quickly sat up straight in his seat again.  
  
His face was hot and he was blushing. Buffy was amazed. He said thank you!! She almost couldn't believe it. When she finally looked up again she was smiling.  
  
"Thanks." She said shyly as she turned back in her seat and the lights came on. 


	5. Cootie Girls and Jealous Boys

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Again thanks for reading and reviewing!!  
  
Here's a short chapter with Spike and Goldilocks POVs… =)  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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William looked up from the third grade reader they were supposed to be studying. In front of him were Goldilocks' stupid shiny soft curls. His fingers were always itching to touch them and he didn't know why. She was a cootie girl! A cootie girl with some kind of magnetic magic powers or something. Maybe she was a witch! Stupid witchy cootie girl!  
  
He reached up to grab one of her curls just as she turned to say something to Willow. She must have seen him out of the corner of her eye because she yelled "Spike!" just before hitting him in the shoulder.  
  
Ouch! William rubbed his shoulder where she had connected with her fist. One minute she's all oooh! I'm scared help me, help me! And the next she's beating me up! What does she want from me? I can't help it if she's got some wierdo magnetic powers over me!  
  
Look at her all smiling at Willow. She never smiles at me. Except that time in the museum. Why doesn't she smile at me? All she does is give me angry looks with her green sparkly eyes. Green sparkly eyes!? Bloody heck! I'm turning into a nancy boy! What is she doing to me?  
  
She's nothing like Tara or Anya. They aren't always hitting me, or yelling at me, or making me want to pull their crazy hair! They were the only two girls in class that he didn't think were gross and dumb. Well…maybe HER too. Argh! No not her. She is gross. A gross dumb cootie magnet girl!  
  
He looked over when he heard stupid monkey boy laughing. He saw Anya kiss him at the museum. Yuck! He couldn't believe Xander let a girl kiss him! He was surprised he hadn't gotten sick or something afterward. He would never let a girl kiss him. Even if she had some freaky magnetic force and crazy sparkly eyes!  
  
His hand shot out again and took hold of her hair. He held it for a second feeling the softness and the way it curled around his fingers before giving it a tug. He was smiling when she turned to glare at him angrily.  
  
***  
  
Arrgghhh! Why did he keep doing that? Buffy was glaring at Spike. He had that "I'm a dumb boy" smirk on his face and he was laughing! She stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her reader. Maybe he was jealous of her hair. He had that funny looking spikey hair. Maybe he wished he had her kind of hair? That was sad. She thought he had nice hair. Even if it did make him look a little silly. He shouldn't be jealous of her hair!  
  
She looked over at Willow who was studying her reader intently and sighed. Willow was so good at school. She would never be smart like Willow. She looked back down at her reader pretending to study. She could feel Spike behind her waiting for another chance to pull her hair.  
  
He was so annoying! He was always being mean to her. She didn't do anything to him and then he was all like "oh Buffy you've got stupid Goldilocks hair!" And what does he mean by that? My hair's not stupid! He's the one jealous of my hair! Why is he always so mean to me?  
  
Well except for that one time. She was still embarrassed about being scared at the museum. He was right. It was just a movie. She knew that. He didn't have to tell her! But then she got scared anyway. He wasn't so mean then. He was actually kind of nice. Kind of. At least he didn't make fun of her after. And he did say thank you for the card! At least she knew he got it.  
  
Maybe she didn't hate him after all. Buffy's head snapped backward when he tugged her hair again. Oh! That hurt! No. She did hate him! - She thought as she balled up her little fist again and turned toward him…  
  
"Quit it spike head!" 


	6. Bert and Ernie

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Thanks for all your cool reviews! =) Sorry took so long to update. Had to fly to LA to see my sister's new baby!  
  
Here is a little bit of Tara and Willow fun…  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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Tara was sitting on the swings waiting for Willow to show up. It was their week to take care of Bert and Ernie (the class guinea pigs). They both decided to come to school fifteen minutes early to feed them and make sure their drinking water was clean and everything.  
  
Tara liked to come to school early. There was hardly anybody on the playground and she could just sit there and not worry about having to talk to people. The only people she knew well enough not to get too shy around were Anya and William. She giggled thinking of Buffy's nickname for him. "Spike!" she said softly with a smile.  
  
She thought it was funny because William kept saying how much he hated it but Tara knew that he really liked it. Otherwise he wouldn't spend so much time teasing Buffy to make her tease him back. She got along well with Anya and Will because they both seemed to dislike being around people as much as she did. Well. Not really dislike. She just wasn't very comfortable around them.  
  
She sat swinging silently lost in thought. Before she knew it Willow was tapping her on the shoulder, smiling down at her.  
  
"Hey Tara! Are you ready? I'm sorry I'm late. My mom was making my sandwich and then she ripped the bread all up by accident so she had to start all over. And then she forgot my juice! So it just took forever! But it won't take too long to take care of Bert and Ernie. We won't have to change their water or anything today. Just feed them and change the paper." Willow was talking so fast that Tara couldn't have gotten a word in even if she had wanted to.  
  
Tara just smiled and nodded as she listened to Willow talk about all the books she had read on guinea pigs and what they eat and where they live and how many different kinds there were. She knew a lot!  
  
When they got to the classroom Willow handed her the food. "T-thanks." She took a scoop and was putting it into the cage as Willow started to replace the newspaper at the bottom. Bert and Ernie were happily chasing each other around while the girls worked.  
  
Before Willow could close the cage door again Bert suddenly decided he wanted some freedom. He jumped out the door and onto the floor. Willow let out an "eek!" and Tara just made an "O" with her mouth. While they were busy eek-ing and o-ing Ernie decided to join Bert and now they were both running around the floor of the classroom!  
  
Willow shouted at Tara to chase Ernie since she was going after Bert. They both went into action. Tara started chasing Ernie down the row of seats but whenever she got close to him he would just run right out of her reach. Willow was having the same problem with Bert!  
  
Finally the two girls were out of breath. They were standing at the front of the classroom. They could see Bert and Ernie in the back having a party. Tara's eyes started to fill-up because she was afraid they were going to get in trouble. Willow noticed and patted her on the back.  
  
"Don't worry Tara. We'll catch them before Mr. Giles gets here. It'll be okay." She was rubbing Tara's back trying to calm her down. She gave her a quick hug before saying, "Okay I have plan!" Tara could almost see the light bulb go off above Willow's head. It made her feel better.  
  
"Let's empty one of the crayon trays. Then we can sneak up and throw the tray on top of them! They'll be easy to catch then, " Tara thought that was a great idea. So they dumped all the crayons into one container and took the other.  
  
Instead of going straight at Bert and Ernie, Tara and Willow went around all the seats and came up from the far corner of the room. Before the guinea pigs knew what happened they were trapped in the container!  
  
Willow was glad to see Tara smiling when she looked up. She didn't like it when Tara cried. She was so nice!  
  
"O-oh oh." Tara looked up at Willow, "how do we g-get them out?"  
  
Hmm. Willow hadn't thought of that. "Maybe we should wait until Mr. Giles gets here? He can put them back. At least we caught them again."  
  
Tara felt like crying again. They were going to get in trouble for sure!  
  
"Oh! Don't cry! Okay I have another idea!" Willow was thinking fast trying to keep Tara from getting anymore upset.  
  
Just then Buffy and William walked into the classroom. Tara looked up and thought "William! Oh no! Mr. Giles is here!" The tears started spill. Will and Buffy ran over to them to see what was the matter.  
  
"Hi Wills. Hi Tara. What's wrong?" Buffy looked at them with concern. Her little brows furrowed together.  
  
"Hey Tara. Red. " Will looked down to see the container wiggling on the floor. "What's in there?"  
  
"B-bert * sniffle * and * sniffle * Ernie!" Tara cried. Willow had her arm around her and was hugging her. "Your d-dad is going to be so m- mad!"  
  
"Don't worry Tara we'll take care of it!" Buffy and Will said at the same time.  
  
They looked at each other and stuck their tongues out before bending down toward the container.  
  
"Let's all stand around the tray and when Spike lifts it we'll just grab them up!"  
  
"Shut up Goldilocks!" Will bristled at his nickname.  
  
"Just do it Spike head!" Buffy stood with her hands on her hips in her "you better do what I say" stance.  
  
They stood around the container and as Spike picked it up Buffy, Willow, and Tara reached out to grab the guinea pigs. Tara grabbed Bert and Buffy was able to get Ernie. They were squealing and struggling as they brought them back to their cage.  
  
"Thanks guys!" "T-thanks!" Willow and Tara said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled with relief. As they walked back to their seats Tara whispered "Thanks W-willow" before sitting down.  
  
"Good Morning." Mr. Giles called to the students as he entered the classroom his hands full of books. 


	7. School Play Part I

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Yay! The school play! A little fun in the land of Oz.  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Buffy was so excited! Mr. Giles was going to be giving out their parts for the school play this year. They were doing her favorite. The Wizard of Oz! She so wanted to be Dorothy! Her mom thought that she was too young for it. But she wasn't afraid of all the monsters and witches, she thought the whole thing was great! And Dorothy was so cool! She wasn't afraid of any of them.  
  
William was waiting patiently in his seat. As patient as he got anyway. Toying with the idea of pulling Goldilocks' hair again. His dad was about to tell them who they go to be in the stupid play. Wizard of Oz! What a dumb movie! Witches and flying monkeys. Hah! He hoped Xander got to be a flying monkey! That would be perfect for him! "Ouch!" he cried as he received an impatient punch from Buffy after tugging on one of her curls.  
  
Xander laughed. Buffy sure hated that William. He was such a jerk sometimes. His attention was drawn away by the girl sitting to his left. He didn't know why Anya hung out with him at all. She was such a nice girl, even if she didn't always think before she spoke. He was still embarrassed about the time when he had accidentally bumped into her and knocked her down during lunch. As he helped her up she had said "Thank you Xander. Even though you're extremely clumsy and goofy you can be very nice sometimes." And smiled sweetly at him. He did have a goofy grin on his face as he thought about it.  
  
Anya was sitting quietly at her desk waiting to find out who she got to be in the play. She didn't understand plays very much. Why do people want to pretend to be other people? Aren't they happy with being themselves? She snuck a peak at Xander. He had that goofy grin on his face again. She thought it was sweet, if a little silly. But he was always nice to her. She still remembered him giving her his sandwich at the museum. And the way he had turned beet red when she had thanked him with a kiss. Boys! She didn't understand them. She was just saying thank you! Xander had turned toward her during her musings and she smiled at him. His face turned bright red before he turned away. "Silly Xander!" she thought as she turned her attention back to Mr. Giles.  
  
Willow was taking notes as Mr. Giles told them about the play. She had never seen the Wizard of Oz but she thought it sounded kind of interesting. And Buffy said it was her favorite. So it must be pretty good. Mr. Giles was explaining that they weren't going to be doing the whole play, just bits and pieces. The assembly wasn't going to be long enough for them to do the whole thing. Willow heard Buffy's sad sigh at the news. She turned to smile at her best friend, but found her engaged in another battle with Will. She sighed herself and turned back to her notes.  
  
Tara was watching Willow's solo exchange with Buffy sadly. She really wanted to be better friends with them, but she couldn't bring herself to even say hello to them most of the time. She couldn't believe that they hadn't gotten in trouble for letting out Bert and Ernie the other day. She was so glad that Buffy and William had come in when they had. Although it was very scary for her, "she hated getting in trouble!", she was glad she got to spend some time with Willow. She knew about everything. It was like she had read every book that was ever written. And she was so nice to her when she had started crying the other day. She even gave her a hug. She smiled as she looked over at Willow who also glanced up at the time. Tara blushed and looked back down at her desk.  
  
"Okay everyone. When I call your name please come up and I will give you your assignments. " Mr. Giles had a stack of papers on his desk. He started calling out names and handing the papers to each person. When it was Buffy's turn she squealed!  
  
"I get to be Dorothy!!! Yay!!!" She skipped back to her desk. It turned out that the papers that Mr. Giles was giving out were the scripts for the scenes they had to do. She had three scenes. One with the Tin Man, one with Cowardly Lion, and one with the Scarecrow. She wondered who would get to play the scenes with her. But at the moment she was too happy and excited about her part to pay attention to who got the other parts. She wanted to run home and tell her mom right away!  
  
"It's just a stupid play Goldilocks!" Spike murmured to her as she sat back down. He plucked her scripts out of her hand before she had a chance to stop him. "Ooh! You get to be Dorothy!" he mocked her. "Wonder what stupid nancy boy gets to be the Tin Man? You have to kiss him on the cheek! Hope he's been vaccinated!" He stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"Stop it Spike head!" She ripped the papers away from him and put them in her desk before turning back to Spike. "You're just jealous!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder. She was kind of shocked by what he said. She didn't realize she would have to kiss anybody. Even if it was just on the cheek. She had never kissed anybody but her mom! She could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks as she turned back to Mr. Giles.  
  
"William. Come up please." Before Will could say anything back to Buffy his dad was calling him to the front. "Bloody heck!" He cried when he looked down at the papers that his dad had given him.  
  
"William! Watch your language. You go stand in the corner for five minutes!" He gave his son a light slap on his backside as he went. Mr. Giles couldn't believe his son lately. He was turning into a regular helion!  
  
As he passed his desk Spike through the papers down. He huffed his way back into the corner to await his penalty time. Buffy was curious. She wanted to know what had made Spike curse like that. In front of his dad too! She reached down to check what scripts he had and what his part was going to be.  
  
"Oh no!!" She cried softly to herself. Spike was the Tin Man!  
  
**********  
  
Author's note: Hi all! Thanks for reading! You make me so happy! Anyway, just wanted to let you know that this story line is going to continue for a couple of chapters. I was going to make it one big long chapter but I haven't had much time to write lately, and I am trying to keep up with both this story and my Tabula Rasa fic. So I wanted to update before you all thought I forgot about you. Don't worry the next chapter will be up soon and many funny hijinks and Spuffy fun will incur.  
  
Also, in case you are wondering, I chose the Wizard of Oz because I wanted Spike to be able to give Tara her nickname =)  
  
Thanks!! 


	8. Playground Interlude

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
A little reprieve on the playground…  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
William was sitting under his tree looking out onto the playground. He could see Buffy sitting at the top of the jungle gym with Willow and monkey boy. She had her hair in pigtails again. Ever since she found out she was going to be Dorothy she wore her hair in pigtails every day. He hated it! It was so much harder to get a hold of without her noticing!  
  
"Hi William."  
  
Will looked up to find Tara standing next to him. "Hiya Glinda."  
  
Tara giggled and sat down. "Will! You're so silly! Why do you keep calling me that?"  
  
"That's your name, innit?" He grinned at her.  
  
"Only in the play! Do you want me to call you Tin Man?" Tara laughed.  
  
"Nah! That's a nancy boy name. Glinda's a good name. Suits you. You could be a fairy witch type."  
  
Tara blushed and looked down. Will was so nice! She didn't know what else to say, so she just looked around the playground. Spying Willow at the top of the jungle gym, she smiled. They had parts together in the play. So Willow had asked her if she wanted to rehearse a couple of times after school. Today was going to be their first rehearsal together. She was nervous but happy that she got to spend some time with Willow. She was hoping that they would get to be better friends.  
  
Willow noticed Tara looking over at them and waved down at her. She saw Tara wave shyly back and then turn away. Just then Xander poked her in the side hitting her ticklish spot. She giggled and swatted him on the shoulder yelling "Xander! Quit it!" She started to lose her balance and almost fell off the jungle gym until Buffy grabbed her.  
  
"Careful Wills! If you break your arm you won't be able to play the Wicked Witch!" Buffy smiled at Willow as she steadied her. "You got such a cool part!"  
  
"Yeah. My part sucks! I'm not a coward!"  
  
Willow patted Xander on the head trying to soothe his pouty face away. "Don't worry Xander. We don't think you're a coward!"  
  
"Look there's Anya." Xander pointed down at the girl walking by them. "HI ANYA!" He yelled at her as he waved. Suddenly losing his balance he tumbled to the ground landing on his oh-so sensitive bottom.  
  
"Ouch!!" Buffy and Willow were next to him in seconds.  
  
"Are you okay Xander?" They were both helping him up and talking at once. When he looked up Anya was smiling at him.  
  
"Silly Xander!" Anya giggled and continued on her way.  
  
Anya was humming as she skipped over to Will and Tara. When she got their she flopped down to take a seat next to Will on the ground.  
  
"You look all floppy. Are you ready to play your part?" Tara asked quietly.  
  
"I guess so. I don't really understand why we're doing the play. Or how they expect scarecrows to walk and talk. I think it's all very silly!" Anya still didn't understand why people wanted to pretend to be other people. Or other things in her case. At least she got some funny scenes with silly Xander!  
  
"Maybe the scarecrow's a demon. Maybe that's why he can talk." William gave her a devious grin.  
  
"Don't be silly! Demons wouldn't want to posses a scarecrow. They live in a field and don't have any money!" Anya shook her head at Will.  
  
"Okay demon girl!" Will smirked.  
  
Tara was giggling quietly to herself. She always thought it was so funny when Will and Anya started arguing. Will was so calm and collected and Anya was so, well, Anya. It always made her laugh.  
  
Just then the bell rang and all the students headed back toward the class. Will looked up to see Xander holding Buffy and Willow's hands as they skipped back to class. He grimaced and stuck his tongue out at Xander when he thought nobody was looking. 'Stupid monkey boy!' he thought.  
  
"Will, why are you sticking your tongue out at Xander?" Anya was puzzled. She hadn't seen Xander do anything to Will.  
  
Will blushed, embarrassed that he had been caught. "'Cause…'cause…he's a bleedin' nancy boy! Look at 'im. Skipping! Guys aren't 'opposed to skip! Just nancy boys!"  
  
Tara was surprised that Will would be so mean. He was always so nice to her. But then she remembered that he was also pretty mean to Buffy most of the time. Maybe that's why he was so mad. They hadn't fought all morning. Maybe he wanted to fight with her and Xander was hogging up all her time? 'That must be it' she thought, as they made their way back to class. 


	9. Rehearsals

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Rehearsals!!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************************  
  
Mr. Giles was waiting for them when they got back to class. He had several papers in his hand and looked a bit anxious. When they were all gathered he told them that they were heading for the auditorium. It was time for rehearsals!   
  
Buffy had been saying her lines every day since she found out she was going to be Dorothy. She made her mom play all the other parts. Except for the flying monkey men. She made her dumb little sister Dawn play that part! The only scene she hadn't been practicing was the one with Spike. She was embarrassed to tell her mom that she had to kiss him!  
  
Meanwhile Xander was nervously going over his lines in his head. He only had a few, but they were all in scenes with Anya. Xander didn't want to mess up in front of her. She'd probably say something like, "It's okay Xander. Just because you can't remember your lines and you keep falling down doesn't mean you're dumb or anything." And then she would smile that pretty smile and make him forget what he was going to say back.  
  
"Xander? Hello?? What are you muttering?" Willow was trying to get his attention. She heard him saying something under his breath but couldn't make it out. After awhile she gave up and started thinking about the play. She got to be the wicked witch. She still hadn't seen the movie, but she thought her part was kind of neat. She thought it was funny that in all her scenes she gets to "laugh evilly". She grinned at the thought. She had never considered being evil before. She wasn't sure she knew how!  
  
As Xander, Willow and Buffy walked along up front William, Anya and Tara were coming up the rear. All three were kind of lost in thought. All Will could think of was that he had to let stupid Goldilocks kiss him! He had vowed never to let any girl kiss him! What about the cooties? He hadn't gotten his shots yet! Besides he hated this stupid play. And why did she have to wear her hair in pigtails?   
  
Tara was softly reciting her lines to herself. She had been practicing every chance she got. She knew that most of her scenes were with Willow and she didn't want to mess them up. She knew that Willow would memorize all of her lines right away. She was still blushing from Will's earlier comment about her being fairy like.   
  
Of all the children in class, Anya was probably the only one not thinking about her lines or her scenes in the play. As she walked along she began to wonder how many people were going to show up to watch them. She guessed that everybody's parents would come at least. And then what about friends and stuff? That was a lot of people. As she considered this she raised her hand to get Mr. Giles' attention.  
  
"Yes Anya." Mr. Giles sighed. That girl always had a way of asking the most frustrating questions.  
  
"Mr. Giles? Are we charging for tickets to the play? I bet we could make lots of money. I bet we could buy more books and crayons and stuff."   
  
Mr. Giles stopped to look down at the sweet girl. "No Anya. We are not charging for the play. This is for the parents. So they can see what wonderful children you all are." He patted her on the shoulder as he spoke.  
  
"Yes but, that doesn't mean they can't bring money too!"   
  
Mr. Giles sighed again. This always seemed to happen when he spoke with the little girl. She never seemed to understand that not everything was the way she thought it should be. "Yes Anya. It's a good idea, but we have decided not to charge entrance this time." He smiled down at her.  
  
"Okay." Anya began to slow her walk so as to join Will and Tara again. "But I still don't understand why we can't just do both. Just cause they pay doesn't mean they can't see how wonderful we are." She mumbled as she drew away from him.  
  
Mr. Giles shook his head as they finally entered the auditorium. He told everyone to take seats in the first three rows so that he could call them all up for each scene.  
  
***  
  
Xander looked up at the stage to admire his handiwork. He and another boy in class named Jesse had been helping Mr. Giles put together the scenery for the play. Mr. Giles even let him hammer some nails and stuff into the trees and the big fake stones. Jesse got to help paint the mat yellow and with bricks. Xander thought they had done a really good job. You almost couldn't tell that the trees were fake!  
  
Will sat and laughed at the way all the trees and stones looked like cardboard. His Da was crazy to think anyone would believe that!   
  
"Mmmhmmm." Mr. Giles cleared his throat. He waited for the class to quiet down before explaining what they were going to be doing today. "First I would like everyone who has memorized their lines to raise their hands."   
  
He counted about 8 hands before saying, "Okay class. Anyone who has not memorized their lines, please go to the other side of the auditorium. Now those of you left please wait here. I will be back shortly."  
  
Buffy watched Mr. Giles walk to the other side of the room. She could hear him telling the other kids to pull out their lines and start trying to memorize them. She looked around at the seats next to her and saw that Willow (of course!), Xander, Anya, Tara, and Spike were among the people left with her. Ugh! She couldn't believe she had to kiss Spike! Maybe she could ask Mr. Giles if she could just pat him on the shoulder instead? She smiled when she caught Tara looking at her.   
  
Tara smiled back and blushed. She turned away because she didn't know what else to do. Buffy was so nice, she thought. She helped us out when we lost control of Bert and Ernie and Willow really likes her a lot. She always seems to take care of Willow and Xander too. She couldn't understand why Will had such a problem with her. He always had to be fighting with her. But sometimes she thought they both really liked it. Like it was a game or something.  
  
While Mr. Giles was busy on the other side of the room, Anya was looking around. She thought the trees looked very nice. But the stones seemed very unrealistic. There weren't any stones that big! The stones on the playground were 100 times smaller than those! Why did they have to make them so much bigger? Next to her she could hear Willow saying her lines. Of course Willow memorized all of her lines. She probably did it the same night Mr. Giles handed them out. She was Mr. Giles' favorite. She always knew all the answers to his questions. She probably has a secret crush on him or something!  
  
Willow was nervous. Even though she knew all of her lines, she was afraid she might mess them up in front of everybody. She wasn't very good in front of lots of people. She recited her lines in front of Buffy and Xander yesterday, but that was Buffy and Xander! She could tell them anything, or do anything dumb in front of them and they would still like her. She chewed on the bottom of her lip while she went through her lines in her head.  
  
***  
  
Now that he had finally gotten most of the students to start memorizing their lines, Mr. Giles headed back to his other group. He heaved a great sigh seeing that the other group consisted mostly of his little rascals. He loved all of his children dearly, but some of them head a tendency to try his patience. A man could only take so much!  
  
He pulled out his notes and decided to start with the least problematic of the kids. "Tara, Willow." He gestured to them. "Please step up on to the stage." Willow and Tara both stood and swallowed nervously as they made their way up the stairs. Unconsciously they reached for each other's hands as they climbed.  
  
"Okay girls. You both know your lines?" They nodded simultaneously. "Girls. You must let go of each other's hands first. You are enemies remembers?" They dropped each other's hands and blushed. He smiled comfortingly up at them. "Don't be nervous now. You'll both do fine."  
  
"Go Willow!!" Xander yelled from his seat. While on stage Willow continued blushing.  
  
"You can do it Glinda!" Will cried. Not to be outdone by Xander.  
  
"Boys! Please remain quiet." Mr. Giles reprimanded them both. "Okay girls, go ahead."   
  
***  
  
Buffy was fidgeting in her seat. Willow and Tara had finished their scene and now Xander, Anya, and Spike were up on stage. She would be next. Mr. Giles was going to make them rehearse the kissing scene!! She had asked him about just patting him on the shoulder but he didn't think at was a good idea. He had told her not to worry and that everything would be fine. She wasn't worried! She was disgusted! I mean kissing spike head? Ewww!  
  
Finally Mr. Giles was calling her up on to the stage. She climbed slowly and gave Xander a weak smile as he passed her on the way down. He gave her a pat on the back in reassurance. When she got there she could see Spike smirking at her. She could feel her blood begin to boil as she thought about what a meanie he was!  
  
Mr. Giles directed them to start and she began to say her lines. "Tin Man look out!" She cried as she pretended to push him out of the way of a flying monkey. She screamed as the pretend monkey flew at her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Spike getting up carrying the Tin Man's axe. He came at her and swiped the air in front of her, striking the pretend monkey.  
  
Buffy stood and cried "My hero!" before flinging her arms around Spike. For his part William was doing his best not to flinch away. I mean, this was Buffy! He was used to having her yell at him, or chase him, or even hit him. Not hug him to death! He was sort of in that place where you just don't know what to do because the situation is just to weird! Like he was in the twilight zone or something!  
  
As she leaned down to peck his cheek, she was surprised and a little saddened to have him spin out of her embrace. "Spike!" she cried as she tried to get a hold of him again. It wasn't like she wanted to kiss him! But she had to!  
  
"Da! Do I have to??" Will looked imploringly at his father.  
  
"Will. Stay put and let Buffy rehearse her part!" Mr. Giles was wagging his finger at his son now.  
  
"No! Stay away from me Goldilocks!" He yelled as she stepped closer to him. Suddenly he broke out in a sprint across the stage. Buffy following close behind. They could both hear Mr. Giles yelling for them but neither paid attention.  
  
This is what the loved best. Though neither would admit it. They always seemed to have the most fun yelling or arguing or otherwise generally disliking each other. As they streaked across the stage Will could hear Buffy's laughter trailing after him.  
  
He smiled and continued to sprint dodging between fake trees and boulders. He heard a thump and a yell as Buffy slammed into one of the trees and landed on the stage. He turned to see if she was okay, but saw that she was up and chasing him again. He turned to flee but ended up face first in a boulder. Buffy was expecting him to run and was surprised by his unexpected stop. She ran into him and they both went tumbling to the ground.  
  
Having now successfully pinned Spike down. Buffy leaned down to finally finish the scene. Will's whole face turned red as he felt Goldilocks' lips on his cheek. As soon as it was over he slapped his face frantically trying to wipe away the Buffy cooties that were inevitably making their way into his system. "Argh!! Bloody heck!! I've got cooties!! Buffy cooties!!" He yelled as he bucked her off of him.   
  
Before he could move away any further he felt a tug on his ear as his Da came up behind him. "Buffy! William! This is unacceptable!" He stood them both up and glared down at his little hellions. "Buffy I am calling your mother and telling her you will be staying late. Both of you will be helping to rebuild the scenery that you have now just destroyed." He ranted as he led them back to their seats.  
  
They both waited in the auditorium as the rest of the class filed out. Mr. Giles had told them to wait so that he could go get the supplies for the scenery. They would have to help rebuild and then paint the trees and boulders that they had broken. Buffy sighed knowing that her mom would be furious when she got home.   
  
Will looked over when he heard Buffy sniffling. Now he felt bad for having gotten them both in trouble. "Don't worry Buffy. Maybe your mom won't be mad?" He ventured. He saw a tear fall down her cheek and he went over to pat her on the shoulder.  
  
"You can tell her it was all my fault." He said trying to comfort her.   
  
"It was all your fault spike head!" Buffy snapped at him. She was mad at herself for letting him see her cry.  
  
"Fine!" Will moved away from her again. "What did you expect me to do when you tried to give me your bloody cooties!"   
  
"I do not have cooties!" Buffy cried as she aimed at his shoulder with her fist.   
  
"Do too!"   
  
"You're such a meanie!" Buffy was huffing in her seat. "No wonder Mr. Giles made you the Tin Man. You don't have a heart!"   
  
"I do too have a heart! You take that back!"   
  
Instead of apologizing Buffy just stuck her tongue out at him. They were both sitting stiffly in their seats when Mr. Giles returned with the supplies.  
  
Mr. Giles saw them and breathed a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't gotten into any more mischief while he had been gone. He put the cans of paint and the hammer he carried on the stage before turning back to the too little beasts.  
  
While Buffy and Will sat listening to Mr. Giles' instructions they both had only one thought in their heads, "Oooh! Paint fight!" 


	10. Paint Fights and Saturday Interludes

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Paint Fights and Saturday Interludes  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Buffy had picked up her brush and began painting the rock in front of her light gray. Her fingers were already stained with paint and she had accidentally dropped a dollop on her jeans. She looked over at Spike, who was painting the top of a tree a dark green. She giggled when she realized that he was singing under his breath. She could barely hear it but it sounded like "row, row, row your boat"!  
  
Will turned his head sharply when he heard Buffy erupt in giggles. His faced flushed when he realized that she must have heard in him singing. It was a habit that he had sometimes. He usually didn't even realize that he was doing it. Figures stupid Goldilocks would overhear him!  
  
When she saw him turn to face her she immediately stuck her tongue out. Will was so mad that his movements became jerky. When he pulled his brush out of the paint he moved a little too fast and ended up splashing part of Buffy's rock with green speckles.  
  
"Spike head! Watch what you're doing!" She moved to paint over the tiny dots of green.  
  
Huh! He hadn't even done it on purpose! And she as yelling at him again! Well fine. If she was going to be mad at him anyway then he was going to deserve it at least. He plunged his little brush into the green paint and pulled it out quickly, letting a few drops fall back into the bucket. Buffy was facing away from him trying to repaint the green speckles on her rock.  
  
"Eek!" Buffy screamed when she felt the thick cold splash of paint all over her back. She jumped up and turned to find Spike laughing his head off. Her lips pursed and her eyebrows scrunched together as she formulated her plan of attack.  
  
Instead of using her brush she plopped her whole hand into her bucket of gray paint and made a cup. She lifted and hurled the small puddle of paint before Spike had even stopped laughing. "Hah!" she screamed as the paint landed squarely on his spiky head (most of it anyway).  
  
Now she was in trouble! He could not believe she just did that! He scooped up a handful of paint and chased after her. She had of course fled as soon as he had begun to move. She was fast but clumsy, and soon tripped over another piece o f the fake shrubbery surrounding them.  
  
He was on top of her within seconds. Smearing the paint onto her face and neck as she squirmed underneath him. "Yuck!" she screamed in between bursts of laughter. They were both laughing and wrestling each other when Mr. Giles returned.  
  
"William! Buffy!" Mr. Giles ran toward them and pulled them apart, subsequently getting green and grey paint all over his suit. He sighed and plopped them both down on their butts on the stage. They were still giggling.  
  
"What am I supposed to do with you two?!" He was exasperated. He didn't think he could take anymore today, so he sent for Buffy's mother and then took William home. He figured staying after school all next week to help him clean the classroom and get ready for the play would be punishment enough. For them or him, he wasn't yet sure.  
  
***  
  
Buffy sat quietly by the fountain while her mom went into the bookstore. She hated bookstores. They were so boring! So her mom said she could stay here if she was very good and very quiet. So she sat kicking her feet out, and splashing her small hand in the water.  
  
William was walking by with his Da when he looked over to see Goldilocks sitting by the fountain. His Da wanted to go into some ratty old bookstore, so he convinced him to let him stay outside. Once his Da disappeared into the store, he headed straight for Buffy.  
  
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout." Buffy was singing/humming as he came near. She looked pretty bored. She didn't look as annoying as she usually did. As he came nearer he suddenly heard a squeal toward his right.  
  
"Buff-eeee!" Red came tearing around the corner. She ran straight up to Goldilocks and gave her a big squeeze before sitting down next to her on the fountain ledge.  
  
"I didn't know you'd be here! My mom made me come. She wants to buy me new pants. I told her I don't need any new pants. But she insisted. But now I'm glad. Because now I got to see you!" She smiled after her furious speech.  
  
"Hi Will! I'm so glad you're here. I was so bored." Buffy rolled her eyes and made a face.  
  
They were still talking when William finally reached them. Willow stopped and waved at him calling out, "Hi Will!!"  
  
"Spike head! What are you doing here?" Buffy asked in her "I'm really annoyed" voice.  
  
"Hi Red." William answered completely ignoring Buffy.  
  
Buffy got mad. How dare he?! Just ignoring her like that. Her hand was still splashing in the cool water of the fountain and so she did the most natural thing. She splashed him.  
  
Oooh! She made him so mad! He turned in her direction and spit out, "Hey Goldilocks - did you tip over? I didn't hear you whistle." He laughed at her as she realized he had heard her singing earlier.  
  
"Uh oh" Willow thought. Here they go again. "Buffy. Will. Why don't we just sit down for awhile. Our parents should be back any minute." She tried for a shy smile. But neither one was paying attention to her now.  
  
Buffy's face was completely red. She was embarrassed and angry at the same time. Why did he always have to do that to her! She jumped down from the fountain ledge and raced toward Spike.  
  
The second he saw her move he was off running. Willow just stood on the fountain ledge and let them run around her in circles trying to figure out a way to stop them. She saw them dodging benches and chairs until one of them, Buffy of course, stumbled and went down. The cry of pain she let out was enough to have a few adult heads turn that were walking by. Willow was quick to jump off the fountain and race toward her friend. She helped her up into the seat that she had tripped over while Will hovered around anxiously.  
  
"Sorry Goldilocks." He looked genuinely upset. Buffy glanced up and saw his nervousness and felt bad. Why did they always end up fighting?  
  
She was sniffling a little. Tears had sprung to her eyes as she connected with the hard floor but she had managed to keep from really crying. "S'okay." She mumbled at Spike as he finally took a seat next to hers. Willow was holding her hand and making sure that she hadn't scraped her knees or elbows.  
  
"You okay?" Spike asked as he leaned in to check that Buffy wasn't hurt anywhere.  
  
"Yeah." Buffy whispered quietly as she wiped away the last of her unshed tears. She was embarrassed that she had fallen. And confused that Spike was being so nice to her. Although she still remembered how he had tried to protect her during the dinosaur movie. She blushed and looked away from him.  
  
For his part, William was really sorry that he had made her fall down again. Not that this hadn't happened dozens of times before, but this time she had actually started to cry! He didn't want to make her cry.  
  
When Buffy turned around again Spike was gone. She was both mad and disappointed. He just walked away? He didn't even say goodbye! She turned back to Willow feeling hurt but pretending it was anger instead. Why should she care if Spike left? She didn't want him around anyway!  
  
A few minutes later she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Spike looking down at her sheepishly, holding a vanilla flavored ice cream cone out.  
  
"What's that for Spike head?" Buffy was confused. Just when she was convinced that she was mad at Spike for leaving, he comes back and gives her ice cream?  
  
"S'for you." Spike shoved the cone at her and sat down in his seat. Willow was smiling in the seat next to Buffy, and Buffy was just looking stunned. She took the cone from Spike and started licking at her ice cream.  
  
"Thanks." She said and continued to eat. Spike just sat next to her and watched the water falling in the fountain. Willow kept talking to Buffy about the new pants she was getting. And that's how their parents found them when they finally all got done for the day.  
  
Mr. Giles and Mrs. Summers were walking out of the bookstore together, having run in to each other at the check out line. When they caught sight of their errant children, they sighed. "Why can't they be like that all the time?" Mr. Giles commented. Mrs. Summers could only agree as they both walked over to collect their little hellions. 


	11. Detention

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Detention  
  
This chapter is pure Spuffy. Still not producing very fast, but at least it was better than last time! I'm working on it - I swear!!  
  
Next up two all couple chapters - School Play (Dress Rehearsals) and School Play (The Finale!) *Don't worry. Just the end of 3rd grade, not my fic! I'm moving on to the 4th grade :) With some short summer vignettes.  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
--- Monday --- * Chewing Gum Duty *  
  
Buffy was only 10 minutes into detention and she was already resolved to never ever ever ever chew bubble gum again!  
  
When the rest of the class had been dismissed Mr. Giles had turned to them. She and Spike had been handed two little spatula things and told to get to work!  
  
Ugh! It was so disgusting. Had she ever stuck gum under her desk? What was she thinking?  
  
While Buffy continued to scrape the desk she sat under, Will re-entered the room. He glanced over at Goldilocks with a grimace. This was all her fault! Why did she always have to make him so mad? Nobody else could get him as worked up as she could just by looking at him.  
  
Her stupid hair! Her stupid face! Her stupid laugh! Why was she always laughing at him? Stupid Goldilocks!  
  
She heard the desk scrape as Spike repositioned himself beneath it. She glanced up briefly to see him sitting cross-legged under Willow's desk. At least he got to take a break! Maybe she would need to go to the bathroom in a few minutes. She didn't know how much more of this ucky job she could take!  
  
Trying to get her mind off of the piece of stubborn gum she was trying to pull off the desk, she thought back to their day at the mall yesterday. She shook her head absently. She just didn't get him! First he's all mean to her, and then he ends up buying her ice cream? Why can't he just be normal? Like Xander! Xander didn't act all mean and then act all nice and then act all mean again! Why can't Spike head be more like Xander?  
  
Will looked over when he heard Goldilocks' soft sigh. She wasn't scraping her desk. She looked more like she was watching tv or something. Figures she'd try to get out of working. Bloody heck! He wasn't going to let her get away with it!  
  
"Da! " Mr. Giles head snapped up at Will's call. He puffed out his own sigh as he saw the now familiar look of irritation on his son's face. A look that he has become intimately acquainted with ever since the first day Buffy Summers stepped onto their little playground.  
  
"Yes William?" He queried resignedly.  
  
"Goldilocks isn't even scraping! She's just sittin' there doing nothing!"  
  
"I am not! Spike head! What are you doing watching me anyway? Why aren't you scraping your desk!" Buffy's eyes were big green circles of fire. Why was he always trying to get her in trouble?  
  
"ENOUGH!" Both pairs of eyes fell to the floor at Mr. Giles' bellow. "You have 15 more minutes of detention left. Go out and throw the scraped gum into the trash bin and return. You will then study your readers for the rest of the time." Mr. Giles sat down again, pinching the ache he felt at the bridge of his nose.  
  
They sat at their desks with their readers open, both pretending to study them intently. Buffy was getting tired of getting in trouble all the time. She never got in this much trouble at her old school! Not really anyway. She suddenly felt very homesick. She hadn't thought about her old school for awhile. But now she missed Allison.  
  
Allison was a lot like Willow. She never got in trouble. That kind of helped Buffy not get in trouble. Though she did occasionally break some rules. Her old teacher used to call her a spitfire, whatever that was! She sighed again wondering what Allison was doing and turned the page in her book.  
  
Will was watching Buffy. It was easy to do since he sat behind her. Da didn't know he wasn't really reading his books. She seemed sad. What a weird girl! She's always either laughing at me and making me mad, or crying and making me feel bad! Why can't she be a normal girl?  
  
They both looked up as Mr. Giles pushed back his desk chair. "You have five minutes left of your detention. Buffy your mother should be here soon. I am just going down the hall for a few minutes. Please continue to study your readers and BEHAVE yourselves!" Mr. Giles walked out praying that his little monsters would be at their desks sitting quietly when he returned from the restroom.  
  
After his Da left Will decided to see what was wrong with Buffy. "What's your problem Golidlocks?"  
  
She stiffened. "I don't have a problem Spike head. Except for you that is!"  
  
Now why was she mad? He just wanted to see why she was sad! Bloody heck she was annoying!  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Fine!"  
  
They both turned back to their books.  
  
Now Buffy was sad and angry. She was homesick. And stupid Spike was making fun of her! Mom said she was a big girl now. She wasn't supposed to cry just because she missed her old school and her old house and all her old friends. Buffy's eyes started to get big. No! She was not going to cry! Suddenly her head snapped backward as Spike tugged on her ponytail. Argh! She couldn't take anymore!  
  
Will had heard Buffy start sniffling. He knew something was wrong. Why did he hate to see her cry so much? Her eyes got so big and green. She looked so sad that it made him sad. He decided to distract her so he did the first thing that came to mind. He pulled her hair.  
  
As Mr. Giles rounded the corner he could hear several sounds from his classroom. None of them sounded like children quietly reading. He hurried his steps only to find Buffy and William on opposite ends of the classroom. Each one had several chalkboard erasers and from the looks of it had been throwing them at each other like grenades.  
  
He took in a deep breath and said the only thing he could. "ENOUGH!!"  
  
Good Lord! Four more days! He didn't know if he could take it.  
  
--- Tuesday --- * Eraser Clapping *  
  
"Since you two were so fond of the erasers yesterday I decided that your job today will be to clap them all out, and I've offered your services to the entire hall."  
  
Buffy and Spike looked down to see two small bins at their feet. Mr. Giles was going on about collecting all the erasers from the classrooms and then going outside to clap them. Buffy was so mad! This was all Spike head's fault! He was the one who pulled her hair yesterday and made her throw the erasers at him! Why was he always getting her in trouble?  
  
Will was brooding. At least this wasn't as bad as chewing gum duty, he thought. But still. If it weren't for Goldilocks he wouldn't have to be here at all! Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered with her? Seems like he was always getting in trouble because of it.  
  
They headed out, each with their own bin to fill. Buffy took all the classes on the left side of the hall, and Will took the right. Mr. Giles was staying in the classroom to do some paperwork and had left them with express instructions to behave. The truth was he just didn't think he could stand another afternoon with the two. He was already going out of his mind! He sighed and hoped that there wasn't much trouble they could get into clapping erasers to the side of the building.  
  
Unfortunately for Mr. Giles, Buffy and William seemed to be able to find trouble wherever they went!  
  
When they had gathered all of the erasers they headed outside together. Instead of stopping outside the door they decided to go around to the other side of the building where it was shadier. That way they wouldn't get too hot. Both their bins were full and it seemed to them that it would probably take their whole detention to finish the job.  
  
So far they hadn't said a word to each other. And that was just fine by Will! He didn't need a dumb old cootie girl to talk to anyway. He thought back to their eraser fight yesterday. He was just trying to distract her. He smiled. He guessed it worked!  
  
Buffy looked over to see Spike laughing about something. What an annoying butthead! She thought. Boys were so dumb. He sings to himself. He laughs to himself. What a weirdo! She thought about her earlier wish that he act more like Xander. Xander didn't act anything like the other boys she knew.  
  
He was nice and sweet and funny. Well Spike head was funny too. Sometimes. When he wasn't being mean to her that is. And she guessed that he could be nice sometimes too. He did thank her for the card she gave him. And after she had embarrassed herself at the dinosaur movie too! Come to think of it. He was kind of sweet. He did buy her an ice cream cone after she fell at the mall. So why did he always make her so mad? Why couldn't he be nice and sweet and funny all the time instead of just sometimes?  
  
As she reached down to pick up another eraser she heard Spike humming to himself. This time she could hear the tune was rock-a-bye-baby. She giggled and looked up at him.  
  
"What?" Will caught Buffy staring.  
  
"Nothing." She smiled. "Just thought I heard something." She giggled again and started clapping her new eraser against the wall.  
  
Will started to turn red. The blush started at the base of his neck and gradually spread across his face. Darn! She caught him singing again! "So what! If you don't like it then go clap your erasers somewhere else!" He turned away hotly, his face completely flushed with embarrassment.  
  
Buffy saw him turn away and was immediately sorry. She didn't want to make him mad again. They were almost through with detention today. "I'm sorry Will. I didn't mean to make fun of you. I just thought it was funny that it was rock-a-bye-baby."  
  
Tears sprang to his eyes. He was no longer embarrassed. He hadn't realized what he was doing. It was an unconscious habit he had, and most of the time he didn't even know he was doing it, let alone what he was singing.  
  
Buffy saw Spike's eyes get big before he turned away again. Oh no! Now what had she done? He looked like he was going to cry! "I'm sorry Spike! I didn't mean it! I swear!" She put her eraser down and stepped closer to him.  
  
He was still turned away when he started to speak. "S'Okay." * sniffle * "Didn't know I was singing that song. My mum used to sing it to me. I think she used to sing to me a lot." He tried to swipe his eyes without Buffy seeing.  
  
Buffy started to cry. She was such a creep! "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I won't make fun about it anymore. I promise!"  
  
To Will's surprise Buffy stepped forward and threw her arms around him. She hugged him for a second and then pulled away, going back to her eraser bin. "Come on Spike head. Let's hurry so we can go home."  
  
He wiped his eyes one final time and turned back grabbing his next eraser. He didn't look at her or say another word for the next 10 minutes. His next words were pretty much a loud shriek as the sprinklers for the lawn next to them came on.  
  
Both Will and Buffy screamed at the same time. Buffy ran out of the way as soon as the first drops of water splashed her from behind. And Will was right behind her. When they stopped they both realized that they left their eraser bins in the shower of water! So of course they were running back into the water as Mr. Giles came out of the building to see what the noise was all about.  
  
"William! Buffy! Get out of there at once!" Mr. Giles cried out to them as they came back carrying their now drenched erasers.  
  
"Da! It wasn't our fault!"  
  
"Mr. Giles they just turned on!"  
  
Buffy and William yelled at the same time. As they simultaneously shook their heads free of water.  
  
To his credit all he said was "follow me," as he turned back toward the building wondering where he could find a set of towels.  
  
Good Lord! Three more days! What was he thinking assigning them a whole WEEK of detention?!  
  
--- Wednesday --- * Auditorium Cleanup *  
  
Since the play was only a few more days away he wanted to the Auditorium to be spic and span. Today he would have Buffy and William clean up. But first he wanted to make sure that any potential disasters were averted. He decided to go in during lunch and lock away all the paint, push aside all the sets, and pretty much clear the way for his two favorite hellions.  
  
He could see the twin looks of chagrin on their faces when they entered the room. Two brooms, rags, and various other cleaning supplies sat in a heap in the corner. As soon as they some, they both knew their assignments for the day. They sat sullenly in the first row awaiting his instructions.  
  
"Well since this is where it all started, it is only fitting that you two will have to clean up your own mess." He glanced at both of them as he spoke.  
  
Buffy wasn't really paying attention to Mr. Giles. It was obvious that they would be spending their detention cleaning today. Instead she was looking at the various splats of paint that decorated the floor of the stage. Remembering back to last week and her and Spike's paint war.  
  
Will hated cleaning. It was always one of his chores during the week, sweeping the kitchen or cleaning the bathroom. He looked around trying to figure out exactly what his Da was going to make them do today.  
  
"You will be cleaning off the stage today. I have moved aside all the sets, which we will be fixing up on Friday for your final detention, by the way. You need to sweep the floor first, and then you will be wiping down the stage with some rags and warm soapy water. The supplies are over in the corner, you will need to take a bucket each and fill it with water in the restroom. If you have any questions I will be in our classroom." Buffy watched as Mr. Giles headed out of the Auditorium.  
  
Will decided he just wanted to get this over with. He stood and made his way to the corner grabbing the first broom and stepping up onto the stage. He turned to see Goldilocks grabbing her own broom and following him. His thoughts turned to yesterday's detention.  
  
He was so mad at himself. He couldn't believe he had let Goldilocks see him cry! What kind of baby was he? She didn't seem to mind though. And had even given him a hug. That was weird. He didn't think he had ever hugged another kid before. Just his Da. But it had made him feel a little better. He sneaked a peak at Goldilocks then. She was on the other side of the stage. He giggled because the broom was so much bigger than her and she looked so funny!  
  
Buffy was too busy struggling with her broom to notice Will's giggling. It was much larger than her, and she had to hold it in the middle of the handle to use it. She finally looked over to see Spike sweeping the last of his dirt onto a little tray and then dumping it in the trash. She was almost done with her side but still sweeping when he came up to her a few minutes later.  
  
"Hey Goldilocks. I'm finished sweeping so I'll go get the water and the soap so we can finish. Kay?" He was trying to be nice to her since they seem to have reached some sort of truce yesterday before the sprinklers hit.  
  
She looked up to answer him, and saw that he had dirt smudged on his face. It made her smile, but instead of making fun of him she just said, "Okay Spike head. Don't spill any on the way back!" As he headed down the steps.  
  
Will grabbed the bucket and headed out the door. He wondered at the smile she gave him when he told her what he was doing. They hadn't fought all day today. What was going on? Were they becoming friends? He shook his head wondering what he was thinking as the water splashed into the bucket he held.  
  
Buffy had finished sweeping and was taking the rags up to the stage when Will came back. They both dunked their rags in to begin wiping down the stage.  
  
As they started cleaning, they both realized that they weren't going to be getting much of the paint or other dirt off the stage. Mr. Giles must be running out of things for them to do during detention, Buffy thought. She was slowly wiping the rag in a circle in front of her.  
  
She and Will were relatively close together on the stage, both having to be close enough to the bucket to re-dunk their rags whenever needed. For some reason Buffy felt like talking to him.  
  
"Hey Spike head." She waited until he looked up at her. "Thanks for getting the water."  
  
He blushed. "S'okay." He said softly. He wasn't used to this Buffy. The Buffy that was nice to him. That wasn't making fun of him or getting him in any trouble. He thought about the mess that had gotten them here in the first place. That stupid play!  
  
"Why do you like this stupid play anyway?" He asked as they continued cleaning.  
  
"Huh?" Buffy was busy wringing out her rag when Spike had spoken. "Oh. Uhm. Well it's great! Dorothy is a hero! She saves Oz from the wicked witch and she helps the scarecrow and the tin man and the cowardly lion! And she's a girl! But that doesn't stop her from being the hero!"  
  
Will was smiling as he watched Buffy rant on about Dorothy. Girls! They were crazy! "So you just like it cause it's got a girl in it?" He smirked.  
  
"No dummy! Cause its got a HERO girl in it! It even has a bad guy girl in it too! It's so cool!" She scrubbed happily away at the stage.  
  
Buffy heard Spike's snort but chose to ignore it. She didn't care what stupid Spike head thought anyway. It was a cool play!  
  
"The play's the only reason we're here in the first place! Stupid play!" Spike snorted again.  
  
"Not it's not!! We're here because of you Spike head! You ran away from me when I tried to kiss you. That's what started it all!" Buffy huffed at him.  
  
"You think I want your cooties!?" He cried with a disgusted expression on his face.  
  
"Ugh! Do you think I WANT to kiss your stupid butt face!? It's part of the play dummy! We have to do it no matter what, so you better get used to it!"  
  
Ick. He didn't think he could ever get used to the idea of a girl kissing him! Gross! But she was right. His Da was going to make him do it no matter what. He sighed. It hadn't been so bad when she hugged him yesterday. Maybe the kiss wouldn't be too bad either. After all monkey boy hadn't come down with anything yet, and Anya had kissed him weeks ago.  
  
They were just finishing cleaning up. There was a little drain behind the stage that he took the bucket to so he could dump the water. When he got back Goldilocks had already put the rags and brooms back in the corner pile they had started in.  
  
"Thanks." He said as he came up beside her to put the bucket in the pile as well.  
  
"Welcome." She said, turning away to start down the stage. Before she could get down the second step, Spike had touched her arm. She looked back up with a question on her face.  
  
"Uhm. Sorry I ran away from you." He mumbled his apology. She squinted up at him surprised.  
  
"S'okay." She shrugged, "but you better not do it again. The play is next week. Mr. Giles will really be mad if we mess up when all our parents are here."  
  
"I know." He started to walk down the steps, but stopped. "Maybe uhm.maybe we should try it again, before the play. You know. Just so I can get used to it?" He was blushing now and couldn't look at her.  
  
Buffy was smiling. He looked so funny when he blushed. His whole face got red, even his neck! She decided that she wasn't going to make fun of him for this since he was actually trying to keep from getting either one of them in trouble.  
  
"Okay. Why don't we do the whole thing so it will be more realistic?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the stage.  
  
***  
  
Mr. Giles looked up at the clock and realized it was time to go get his two little rascals. Mrs. Summers would be here any minute to pick Buffy up from detention. He heaved a sigh as he lifted himself off his chair and stood to make the walk to the Auditorium.  
  
When he entered the room his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Buffy was kissing his son on the cheek. And amazingly his son was doing nothing more than a little squirming.  
  
"Thanks tin man." He heard Buffy say as she moved away from Will. He realized then that they must have been practicing for the play. A smile lit his face, feeling some relief that they were not going to have a repeat of the rehearsal fiasco during the play next week.  
  
Without warning he saw his son's hand dart up and pull down on Buffy's left pig tail. He heard the tiny screech from her mouth and sighed as the chase began.  
  
Good Lord! Two more days! The distinct possibility that he might spontaneously combust sprang to mind.  
  
--- Thursday --- * Playground Pickup *  
  
Today Mr. Giles told them to clean up all the trash on the playground. He gave them each a small trash bag and let them loose.  
  
Geez! Will never realized how messy his classmates could be. There was rubbish everywhere. Gum wrappers, candy wrappers. Ugh! Even crumpled up tissues.  
  
Buffy was wandering underneath the jungle gym with her trash bag. Only one more day of detention! Yeah! Her mom had even told her that she could go to a movie with Willow and Xander on Sunday! She could hardly wait. Not that they wouldn't have plenty of time to hang out with each other over the summer. Just one more week of school! Now she just had to get through one more rehearsal and the play.  
  
She giggled remembering her and Spike's rehearsal yesterday. He's such a dorkbutt sometimes. He wanted to practice the play with her so that he wouldn't mess up again like last time. She had to admit that he had been good about it this time. He actually stood still enough for her to kiss his cheek. Of course he ruined the whole thing after by pulling her hair and making her chase him all over the stage! Dorkbutt!  
  
Will looked around the playground trying to decide where his next clean up spot should be. For some reason he ended at the swings by the jungle gym.  
  
He shifted the sand underneath one of the swings to pull out an old tootsie roll wrapper. He glanced over at Goldilocks who looked more like she was playing on the jungle gym instead of cleaning underneath it. He laughed under his breath. She never did anything right! No wonder she was always getting in trouble. He looked down at her bag of trash. At least it looked like she had done some work.  
  
"Hey Goldilocks!" He called out to her. "Better get down before Da comes out and catches you. You might end up with detention again next week and you won't even have me to keep you company!"  
  
"Whatever Spike head! Not like I want your butt head company anyway!" She yelled back, but dropped back down to the ground as advised.  
  
They spend the next twenty minutes cleaning up the are around the gym, swings, and hand ball courts. Since Mr. Giles was probably going to be coming out soon, Buffy decided to just wait for him on the grass. She saw Spike coming toward her and waited for him to say something mean about her hair or clothes or whatever. But instead he just plunked down beside and looked up at the sky.  
  
Buffy tried to look up to see what was so fascinating but couldn't tell what he was looking at. Finally she said, "What are you staring at butt face?"  
  
"Just a frog cootie breath." He said without looking away from the sky.  
  
"What are you talking about Spike? There aren't any frogs in the sky!" Buffy squinted but couldn't figure out what he was talking about.  
  
"There. See." He pointed at a cloud just above the classroom building.  
  
"Oh." It did sort of look like a frog. "Looks more like a bunny to me."  
  
"Of course YOU would think it's a girly animal." He looked away and down at her. "Do you wanna hear a secret?" He asked after awhile.  
  
Huh? Spike head was going to tell her a secret? She looked at him and shrugged.  
  
"Don't tell Anya I told you.She's afraid of bunnies!" He said in a whisper.  
  
"Bunnies! Who's afraid of bunnies! That's silly!" They laughed together.  
  
"That's why it's a secret!"  
  
They watched as the wind blew the frog/bunny cloud away and out of sight. They were looking for another cloud to watch when Buffy saw a streak of brown and white fly past them. She looked down and realized that the wind was blowing their trash bags over and scattering everything they had collected.  
  
She shrieked and pulled on Spike's arm to get him to follow her as they both started chasing their trash down. At least she had caught her bag before she lost ALL her trash.  
  
Poor Spike wasn't as lucky. She felt bad for him so decided to help him grab his trash back up. But before she did she tied her bag shut so that she wouldn't lose anymore of what she had already stuffed back inside.  
  
Mr. Giles was just finishing grading the last of his papers when he heard the shriek. He decided that maybe if he just ignored them long enough he wouldn't have to deal with whatever had inspired the little outburst. He continued to sort the papers for a few more moments before his conscience got the better of him and he headed outside.  
  
The first thing he noticed when he stepped out was that the wind had picked up significantly. The second thing her noticed was that this was what obviously caused the earlier shriek he had heard. Both Buffy and Will were running around the playground trying to catch flying pieces of paper and not being particularly successful. The annoying thing was that they both looked like they were enjoying it! Only Buffy and Will could enjoy detention! His now familiar heavy sigh appeared, as he lengthened his stride toward the two ruffians.  
  
Good Lord! One more day! It was almost over. It was almost over. He just had to keep repeating that to himself.  
  
--- Friday --- * Auditorium Setup *  
  
At least today wouldn't be so bad. They didn't have much to do but push the rocks and trees back in place. The only other thing that needed to be done was to put the yellow brick road down. It was really just some yellow construction paper that she and Spike had to tape together, but it was cool anyway.  
  
They had taped the road together in the classroom while Mr. Giles sat at his desk reading a book. She figured he wasn't going to leave them alone this time. Yesterday he said something about having to keep his eye on them every minute of every day, or something like that. She didn't know why. It wasn't like it was their fault the wind was blowing!  
  
They had worked together quietly. They hadn't talked much today beyond their usual greeting/insults. Not that she cared. Although it had seemed like they had talked a lot this week. But that didn't mean she wanted to keep doing it. Or that they were friends or anything. He was still a butt head boy!  
  
But just as they were finishing up she heard him mumble something. "What Spike head?" She asked, putting the last piece of tape on her "brick".  
  
"Thanks." He mumbled again, but slightly louder. ".uhm.you know.for helping me get my rubbish yesterday."  
  
How come whenever she thought he was a just a dumb butt head boy he always ended up doing something nice? He was just trying to confuse her!  
  
"Uh. Welcome.are you finished yet?" She didn't know why but she felt like she was blushing. "Hurry up dorkbutt. We still need to put the rocks and trees back."  
  
"Don't call me dorkbutt, barf breath!" He called back absentmindedly. "There. I'm done. Let's go."  
  
They carried the "road" up to Mr. Giles and he led the way to the Auditorium.  
  
Again Mr. Giles sat down reading his book, this time in the first row of seats. Before resuming reading he instructed the children to push out the trees and rocks before laying down the "road". He wanted to minimize any destruction that might be caused by the moving.  
  
Although the sets weren't very heavy each one needed both Buffy and Will to place them properly. They worked together without much comment. Mr. Giles took quick glances in between each page of his book. Making sure that their last day together was not going to result in another week's worth of torture for him. To his surprise and relief they both seemed to be working together without any problems.  
  
Both Buffy and Will were quiet as they finished placing the sets and moved toward the "road" they had left on the steps. They should both be happy to have their last day of detention coming to a close, but for some reason neither one seemed very excited.  
  
When they were finished taping down the "road" on stage they looked up at each other. Buffy knew her mom would be their any minute to pick her up. She walked over to Spike, "Well see you Spike head."  
  
"Whatever Goldilocks." He said back as she started to walk past him, he pulled on her pig tail half-heartedly. She looked back and stuck her tongue out at him. For some reason it made him feel better, even though he wasn't even sure why he needed cheering up.  
  
Mr. Giles stood with his son as Buffy climbed into her mother's Cherokee. The week was finally over.  
  
Thank the Lord! He felt like a disaster survivor. 


	12. Dress Rehearsals

Sorry this took forever!! I have had a lot of personal upheavals lately and have not been able to do much more than keep my head above water for now. But I think things are finally starting to slow down. Hope there are still a few people out there who want to read my stories!  
  
Thanks again!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
School Play (Dress Rehearsals)  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Buffy was so excited she was bouncing up and down. Beside her Willow giggled. Buffy always had a lot of energy but today she was unstoppable! Willow laughed again as Buffy bounced up out of her seat, ran over to Xander, said something so fast that Xander didn't quite catch it, and then ran back to plop down next to her.  
  
"Wills!" Buffy was smiling, her face red with energy. "Aren't you excited! Don't you love my shoes! I love my shoes!"  
  
Buffy was kicking her feet back and forth smiling down at the shoes her mom had found at the thrift store last weekend. They were perfect! They were red and closed with a strap. And they had shiny sequins all over them. They looked just like Dorothy's ruby red slippers! And because she told her mom they were doing dress rehearsals today, she had done her hair especially neat in her normal two braids.  
  
William on the other hand, was acutely uncomfortable. He had to wear a stupid funnel on his head and the bloody thing kept slipping off. His Da made him wear a dumb silver vest too. He looked like a pansy. But at least he didn't look as bad as monkey boy!  
  
Xander had a tail. It didn't bother him so much except he couldn't really sit down. That bothered him. He glanced across the room at Anya. She was wearing a straw hat and a plaid shirt. And her mom had drawn extra freckles on her face. One of their scenes was coming up. They had to skip down the road together with their arms linked. Xander blushed. He still hadn't gotten over that kiss at the museum.  
  
Willow was wondering what Xander was thinking when she saw the stain of pink flush his face. When she saw who he was looking at she smiled. Xander always acted all funny in front of Anya. He was crazy! She turned toward Anya to see what she was wearing and caught sight of Tara, who was sitting next to her.  
  
Tara was holding a wand and wearing fairy wings on her back. Her mom had put glitter all over her hair too. She was all shiny. Tara caught her looking and gave a small wave and a shy smile before turning back to Anya.  
  
"Willow looks so evil!" Tara whispered to Anya when she turned back. She didn't look anything like she normally does. She had on a black witch's hat and a short black dress. Her mom must have put black lipstick on her, and green face paint. She even had a broom!  
  
"Okay everyone! Please quiet down and take your seats." Mr. Giles was ushering them into the first 3 rows of the auditorium.  
  
"But I can't sit!" Xander whined. William snickered. And Anya smiled thinking 'silly Xander.'  
  
"Yes, yes. Well just stand to the side then please Xander." Mr. Giles dismissed him.  
  
Buffy watched as Mr. Giles took the first group of students up to the stage. She was still bouncing in her chair when Spike came to sit beside her.  
  
"Hey goldilocks."  
  
"Hey spike head."  
  
"What are you so bouncy for? Why can't you sit still?" Will watched her warily.  
  
"I'm excited butthead!" Buffy shot him her 'don't you know anything?' look. "The play's tomorrow! And I'm Dorothy! And did you see my new shoes?"  
  
"Only a girl would get excited about new shoes!" Will said in exasperation.  
  
"So what? What's wrong with that?" Buffy was starting to get annoyed. "And they're not just new shoes. They're ruby red slippers!"  
  
"Whatever goldilocks. Those aren't bleedin' ruby slippers. They just got stuff glued on to them to make 'em look like ruby slippers!" Spike said matter of factly.  
  
"Take that back!" Buffy's bottom lip was jutting out.  
  
"I will not!" Spike was determined to stick to his guns.  
  
"Spike head!"  
  
"Goldilocks!"  
  
"I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Buffy turned in a huff.  
  
"Well who said I wanted to talk to you?!" Will answered back.  
  
They were still turned away from each other when Tara walked up. "Hey Glinda." Will offered.  
  
"Hi Tara." Buffy and Willow greeted in unison.  
  
"H-hi guys. Can I sit down?" Tara asked.  
  
Buffy moved over one so that Tara could sit in between her and Willow. Unfortunately this caused her to be sitting directly next to Spike.  
  
She turned and stuck her tongue out at him before giving her attention back to Tara.  
  
"I like your wings." Willow offered shyly.  
  
"I l-like your costume too." Tara gestured toward the broom and hat.  
  
"Thanks." They both said together and then giggled.  
  
Mr. Giles glanced over to check on his little hellions. They were sitting together, but didn't seem to be causing any major trouble. He sighed. Their scene was coming up soon.  
  
Buffy was busy trying not to squish the edge of Tara's wings while simultaneously trying to sit as far away from butthead as she could.  
  
She squeaked when she got a jab in the ribs with his elbow. "Come on goldilocks Da's calling us."  
  
She glared at the back of his head as she followed him up steps of the stage.  
  
Xander watched as Buffy and Will went through their lines. He had just gotten off the stage with Anya and was just standing at the bottom of the steps to watch. He didn't like Will. He was always so mean to Buffy! He was such a jerk!  
  
He couldn't believe that Buffy had to kiss him! He cringed as she saw her lean in closer.  
  
"Argh!!" Buffy's head whipped to the side when she heard Xander's exclamation.  
  
"What are you doing you stupid git?!" Will demanded as Xander came barreling up the stage.  
  
"Will! Watch your language!"  
  
"Sorry Da."  
  
"Mr. Giles! You can't! You can't make Buffy kiss him!" Xander was practically begging.  
  
"Xander please go take your seat!" Mr. Giles was beginning to rub at the ache pounding at his temples.  
  
"It's okay Xander. He promised he wouldn't run away this time. We even practiced a little already." Buffy was oblivious to Xander's shocked expression.  
  
"Argh!!! You mean you kissed him when you didn't even have to?!"  
  
"We were practicing for the play!" Buffy huffed at her friend.  
  
"Yeah and your ruining it monkey boy!" Will could see the light shine of tears in Buffy's eyes. He was starting to get really mad at the wanker.  
  
"Sit down!" Mr. Giles glared at the young boy. "Now Mr. Harris!"  
  
Xander took one last look at Buffy before he slunked back down the stairs, his tail between his legs.  
  
At Buffy's sniffle Will turned around. He put his hand on her back and rubbed in a circle. "It's okay goldilocks. We'll start over kay?"  
  
"*sniffle* okay *sniffle*" She swiped at her nose.  
  
The auditorium was quiet after Xander's fit. While he stood huffing below the stage Buffy and Will got closer to the end of the scene.  
  
"Thanks Tin Man!" Buffy smiled sweetly at Spike.  
  
Will was glad that Buffy had stopped crying. He turned his cheek toward her as she leaned in closer. When he felt the light peck on his cheek he though, "Doesn't seem so bad this time."  
  
They both turned their heads at the sound of the thump.  
  
"Dear Lord." Mr. Giles whispered. How were they ever going to get through tomorrow night?  
  
Buffy and Will watched as Anya patted Xander's unconscious head as she sat next to him on the auditorium floor. 


	13. School Play Part II

**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Chapter 13: SCHOOL PLAY (PART II)  
  
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Willow was hyperventilating.  
  
She was fine up until about half an hour ago. That's when she had peeked through the curtain and seen her parents sitting in the second row of the auditorium. Not just that, but the whole auditorium was full of people!  
  
"Oh my gosh!"  
  
"It's okay Wills. You'll do great!" Xander was standing behind her rubbing circles into her back. He had just come back with a glass of water for her.  
  
"Don't worry Willow! You'll be a great witch!" Buffy beamed at her. She didn't know what Willow was so nervous about. This was going to be great!  
  
"Willow please. Just relax. Everything is going to be fine." Mr. Giles was assuring her.  
  
Tara watched as everyone bustled around backstage. There was a small group gathered in the corner, and she noticed Willow in the middle of it. She looked a little green.  
  
"H-hi Willow. What's the m-matter?" The crowd had dissipated slightly so she had approached.  
  
Willow was sitting in a fold out chair drinking the glass of water that Xander had brought her. She felt a little better now that everyone had stopped crowding her so much.  
  
"Oh. Hi Tara." Willow looked up shyly.  
  
Tara was all glittery again. Her wings were on, but she had put her wand down on the table by the curtain.  
  
"Can I s-sit down?"  
  
"Sure." Willow scooched over a bit so that Tara could sit on the seat next to her without getting her wings scrunched.  
  
"Is everything okay?"  
  
"I just." Willow's hands were waving erratically. "I didn't know there would be so many people!"  
  
Tara's eyes widened. "I know. Isn't it s-scary?" She agreed.  
  
Willow nodded.  
  
"But I kn-now you'll do great. You did really good in the rehearsal." Tara turned away timidly. "And you look just like the wicked w-witch from the movie."  
  
Tara reached out her hand tentatively. She grasped Willow's hand in hers and squeezed. "Just try not to think about them."  
  
Willow looked up to see Tara smiling at her. She smiled back.  
  
Buffy smoothed out her blue checkered skirt for the thousandth time. Her mom was sitting in the audience in the fourth row down and she wanted to look perfect as Dorothy. She had been really careful not to mess up her braids or her costume since they had left the house this afternoon.  
  
Even after dumb old spike head had tugged on her braid and tried to get her to chase him, she refused! She was not going to mess up her dress just to get back at the stupid butthead!  
  
"Hi Anya!" Buffy heard Xander yell from across the room just before tripping on his tail and falling. "Ugh!" The breath wooshed out of him.  
  
"Silly Xander!" Anya giggled.  
  
Will smirked when he saw the ponce fall on his face.  
  
"What are you smirking at spike head?!" Buffy demanded. It was one thing for her to giggle at Xander, but another for HIM to do it!  
  
"Laughin' at monkey boy." Will answered matter of factly.  
  
"Hey!" Xander yelled at him. "Who asked you anyway?!"  
  
"Goldilocks did. Or did you hit your head when you fell?" Will smirked again.  
  
"Leave Xander alone spike head!" Buffy yelled over as she helped Xander up.  
  
Why was she always being so bloody nice to that nancy boy?  
  
Will scowled as Buffy helped monkey boy over to the seats next to Red and Glinda. Buffy ignored him, so he scowled so more.  
  
He turned when he felt Anya's hand on his shoulder. "Why do you dislike Xander so much Will?" She asked, genuinely curious.  
  
"I told you. He's a bleedin' nancy boy!" Will huffed.  
  
"Still, you do seem to hate him extra." Anya glanced over at the now seated Xander. "I think he's sweet." She smiled at him when he turned her way.  
  
"Yeah well, that's cuz he let you spread your girl cooties all over him." Will answered distractedly. He was still watching Buffy fuss over Xander.  
  
"What do you mean?" Anya's brow furrowed. "I don't have any cooties. And if I did I wouldn't be trying to get Xander infected."  
  
"ALL girls have cooties."  
  
"We do not."  
  
"You do too."  
  
"Not!"  
  
"Too!"  
  
"W-what are you guys arguing about?" Tara had joined them now. She had seen their discussion getting louder and louder and decided to come over and see what was wrong. She hated to see her friends fighting.  
  
"Will says we have cooties!" Anya huffed.  
  
"You do!" Will shot back.  
  
"Will that's not v-very nice." Tara said softly.  
  
"I never said I was nice Glinda." Will snapped at her.  
  
Tara's eyes got big. Before she could turn away Will caught her expression.  
  
"Oh bloody heck!" He cursed himself. "I'm sorry ducks. I didn't mean it." He tried to apologize.  
  
"It's o-okay." Tara sniffled.  
  
"You made Tara cry!" Anya accused.  
  
"I'm sorry Tara. Don't cry pet. I'm a bad, rude boy." He placed his hand on her back and rubbed in a soothing circle. "I'm just nervous 's all. I don't want to mess up the play for Da." And goldilocks he mentally added.  
  
Tara smiled at him reassuringly. "Are we all friends again?" Anya asked the two.  
  
"Yeah pet. We're friends."  
  
Tara gave each of them a small hug to cement the deal. She watched as Will's eyes drifted back to the corner where Buffy was sitting. She had a feeling she knew the real reason Will was being so mean.  
  
Will's eyes narrowed as he watched Buffy lean over to whisper something to Xander.  
  
"Xander you have to promise to not to ruin my play okay? Spike already promised not to run away this time, so you better promise not to yell or fall down again. Okay?" She leaned into him menacingly.  
  
"Okay Buff. But I still can't believe you have to kiss that jerk!" Xander was shaking his head.  
  
"I don't think he's that bad Xander." Willow defended. "Tara says he's always really nice to her, and Anya too."  
  
Before he could answer Mr. Giles was clapping his hands.  
  
"Okay everybody. This is it. Your mums and dads are all out there waiting to see you. Don't worry now. We've practiced and we all know our lines right?" He was lining them up in the order they were going to go on stage as he spoke.  
  
"Girls please! No holding hands now. You're enemies." Mr. Giles admonished the good and bad witches.  
  
"Don't worry Wills! You'll do great!" Buffy gave her friend one last encouraging speech before they were being led out onto the stage. 


	14. School Play The Finale

NOTE: I made up all the Wizard of Oz scenes since I haven't seen the movie in forever and didn't really feel like renting it to do the research. Please forgive me!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Chapter 14: SCHOOL PLAY (THE FINALE)  
  
Willow dropped Tara's hand as they moved out from behind the curtain. Tara threw her a shy supportive smile.  
  
They were up first so had been at the head of the line. Willow stepped out into the center of the stage and felt her whole body tense. Her eyes swept the room and her mind went blank at all the people staring back at her.  
  
'Oh no, oh no!' She thought.  
  
Tara saw Willow's face going bright red, her eyes blinking rapidly. She decided to improvise since it didn't seem like Willow was going to say her line.  
  
"What are you doing here wicked witch?" Tara demanded. Her usual stutter missing as she got into her part.  
  
Willow's eyes snapped to Tara's as her mind registered the question. Tara flashed her a smile so quick she didn't think anyone else had seen it.  
  
"I'm h-here for the girl!" Willow gestured with her hand, indicating a Dorothy that wasn't in view. And letting out the evil cackle she had been practicing for weeks.  
  
Xander and Anya were watching from stage left as Willow and Tara continued through their scene. Xander let out a short sigh of relief. After Will's evil laugh she seemed to really get into the part. He had been scared at first because it looked like she was going to faint, but then Tara started talking and everything seemed to go all right.  
  
He hoped that his scene with Anya was going to be as good. He was feeling little butterfly knots in his tummy already.  
  
Anya turned toward Xander to see him rubbing his tummy. "Does your tummy hurt Xander?" She thought he looked cute in his little lion suit. He was all brown and furry and he had a tail too!  
  
"No I'm okay." He realized that he was still absently rubbing his stomach. "Uhm.just hungry. Yeah, didn't eat my snack when I got home today."  
  
She was smiling at him again, and it made the butterflies in his stomach churn faster. He glanced up at the stage and saw that it was almost their turn. The munchkins in front of them were almost done with their scene.  
  
Anya linked her arm through Xander's and waited for the munchkins to leave the stage. She looked down at the yellow brick road and noticed it was a little crumply, but still there. She smiled as she looked up at Xander. He looked so nervous! Maybe she should just give him a kiss for luck?  
  
Xander felt the blush all the way down to his toes. Anya just kissed him again!  
  
"For luck." She whispered.  
  
"Th-thanks." Xander mumbled back to her.  
  
"Okay Xander, Anya. Remember if you forget your lines just look over at me and I'll remind you what they are. Okay children?" Mr. Giles was edging them closer to the stage as he spoke.  
  
Anya and Xander skipped onto the stage arm in arm. Buffy could hear their sing-song "follow the yellow brick road" as they went.  
  
Will stood with Buffy waiting their turn on stage. He was feeling a little nervous and Buffy's excited bouncing was not helping. His face scrunched up and he blurted, "Will you quit bouncing goldilocks? You're givin' me a bleedin' headache!"  
  
Buffy's lip immediately took up pouting position. "Leave me alone spike head! I'm just excited! Everyone is going to get to see me in my Dorothy costume in a second!" She continued to bounce up and down as she spoke.  
  
"I know you're excited! The whole bloody school knows you're excited! Now quit it!" Will put his hand on her should trying to keep her settled.  
  
"Eek!" Buffy squeaked before pulling away from him. "Don't touch me cootie head!"  
  
"What?! You're worried about me touching your shoulder when you're going to be putting your stupid girly lips on me in a minute?" Will scoffed at her. "I'm the one who should be saying that to you!"  
  
Will watched as Buffy's eyes got big and her lip started to tremble. "But.but you promised spike head!" She whispered. "You said you wouldn't run away this time."  
  
Her eyes left his face to stare at her shiny ruby red slippers. She didn't want to cry. Especially in front of stupid spike head. Of course he wouldn't care about his promise! He was just a dumb boy! He didn't care about anything. She sniffled.  
  
"Hey! I didn't say I was gonna run away. I told you I wouldn't!" Will tried to reassure her, patting her back as he spoke.  
  
She looked up at him with a sort of hopeful look. "Promise?"  
  
"I already bloody promised!" Will cried. "Besides don't want to get my Da all mad at me again."  
  
"Okay." That made a lot of sense. Of course spike wouldn't want to get in trouble. She bet Mr. Giles was really good at giving punishments. He had a lot of practice at school.  
  
Will heaved a silent sigh of relief. Now that, that was over he could concentrate on the nervous rumbling his stomach was making.  
  
Buffy looked over to see spike twisting his hands together.  
  
"Don't worry spike. You'll remember everything once we get started. Don't be nervous." Buffy tried the patting on the back thing for him.  
  
Why is she bein' nice to me now? "I'm not nervous you dozy bird!" Will denied.  
  
Buffy's face held a small frown. "I'm not a bird?" She said tentatively.  
  
Will guffawed.  
  
"Will do be quiet!" His Da hissed at him.  
  
"Sorry Da." He apologized and then turned back to Buffy.  
  
"You are bird and dozy too!" He laughed again.  
  
Buffy continued to frown. At least he isn't squishing his hands together anymore, she thought.  
  
Mr. Giles glanced over at his troublesome little pair. Anya and Xander were leaving the stage and they were on next. Will was laughing and Buffy was frowning, but at least they weren't trying to kill each other!  
  
"Buffy! Will! Hurry now!" He called to them.  
  
Will took Buffy's hand as they started to walk out. He noticed her hand was all sweaty and cold and she had stopped bouncing as soon as Da had called out to them.  
  
"You okay goldilocks?" He asked quietly.  
  
"Mmmmhmmm." She answered absently.  
  
Will could hear flying monkeys screeching from off stage. Buffy was supposed to say her line now but instead of talking she was just staring at him with wide eyes.  
  
Will grabbed her hand and started pulling her across the stage toward one of the fake rocks. "Come on goldi - Dorothy! We have to hide from the flying monkeys!"  
  
Oh dear, Giles thought. What now? Little Buffy seemed paralyzed with stage fright. At least Will seemed to be keeping his head.  
  
Buffy still hadn't said a word and continued to clutch Will's hand.  
  
"It's okay Dorothy, they won't see us here." Will continued to improvise. The screeching got louder and then began to fade away.  
  
"It looks like their gone now." Will said glancing up and pulling Buffy back onto her feet.  
  
This was the part where Buffy was supposed to kiss him, but she still wasn't moving.  
  
"Don't worry Dorothy." Will squeezed Buffy's hand in reassurance. "The Wizard of Oz will get you home." And then he leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek.  
  
When he pulled away Buffy's eyes were even wider and Will's face was a lot redder.  
  
A soft "Thank God" could be heard from stage left from a very relieved Giles, as the two little hellions left the stage holding hands.  
  
Once they were off the stage Buffy pulled Will further back from their classmates. Her eyes were downcast, unable to look him in the face.  
  
Will thought she might be mad at him for kissing her so he started to apologize. "Sorry goldilocks I just -"  
  
He was interrupted by Buffy's soft, "Thanks tin man." And then he felt her girly lips on him one last time.  
  
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Author's Note: Hi All!! Thanks for reading and reviewing! You make me so happy! I am desperately looking for a beta for this fic (and one that is only in the planning stages so far - A future arc for the little kiddies from this fic.) I know I don't seem to update very often, but if anyone is willing to put up with me and beta my fics I would greatly appreciate it! Please email me if you're interested. margaritagomez1@msn.com Thanks again!  
  
PS - I hope the school play finale was not anti-climactic for you all. I know a lot of you were waiting on it! 


	15. Summer Vignettes Movies

**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
Oh yeah, since I don't really know what time frame I've set this au world in I'm just going to use movies/music and all that from right now.  
  
Hope you like!  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Chapter 15: SUMMER VIGNETTES (Movies)  
  
Xander's knee was bouncing and his fingers were tapping impatiently on the bench. He was waiting for his two bestest friends, Willow and Buffy, to meet him at the mall. They were going to see a movie together!  
  
Buffy said her mom would pick him up and take him to the mall, but he told them he would just walk. He didn't really want Mrs. Summers to meet his parents. Which was good because they hadn't even woken up yet before he left the house this morning.  
  
Where were they?? He jumped up from his seat and started pacing excitedly. The bench he was sitting on was directly in front of the theater, so he stopped to study some of the posters they had hanging. Sunnydale wasn't that big a town, so the theater was pretty small. It only had 4 movies playing at one time.  
  
Xander really really really wanted to see Sinbad. Wouldn't it be cool to be a pirate? He hoped the girls would want to see it. He re-checked his pockets to make sure he'd brought his money. He'd been saving and saving all year so that he'd have some for the summer. Not that his parents ever really gave him an allowance or anything. He just sort of skimmed a few cents here and there when they sent him to the store to buy stuff.  
  
He turned to go back to the bench and ended up running into somebody. They both fell to the ground, Xander rubbing his forehead where they'd collided. He was about to apologize when he heard a loud, "Bloody heck! Watch where you're going monkey boy!"  
  
Xander sighed. It figured. If he had to run into anybody it was going to be stupid William. What was he doing here anyway?  
  
"Don't tell me you're going to see a movie too?" He asked.  
  
"What's it to you?" Will wanted to know. So what if he was going to a movie? His Da was at school for some teacher meeting and he didn't feel like staying home alone.  
  
"Nothing *spike head*." Xander used the nickname Buffy had given him. He did the snoopy dance in his head when he saw Will wince at the name. "You just better not bother us."  
  
"Us?" Will asked. "You talking to the voices in your head again?"  
  
"No loser!" Xander replied hotly. "I'm meeting the girls here!" He insisted, although there were no girls to be found as of yet.  
  
"You mean red and goldilocks?"  
  
"Willow and Buffy." Xander corrected.  
  
"S'what I said."  
  
"No it wasn't."  
  
"Was too."  
  
"Wasn't."  
  
"Was too."  
  
"Hi Xander!" Willow came skipping up, interrupting the argument.  
  
"Hey Wills!" Xander gave her a bear hug. "Where's the Buffster?"  
  
"She's coming. Just saying bye to her mom." Willow waved toward the mall entrance. "Hi Will." She smiled brightly at him. "Are you coming too?"  
  
"No." "Sure pet." Xander and Will spoke at the same time.  
  
"Hey guys." Buffy joined the three outside of the theater.  
  
"Oh, hi spike head." Buffy blushed slightly looking away. This was the first time they'd seen each other since the play.  
  
"Goldilocks." He nodded at her.  
  
The group was silent for a minute before Buffy finally blurted, "So what are we gonna see?"  
  
"Sinbad." Xander and Spike spoke at the same time again. They looked at each other in surprise.  
  
Xander's eyebrow raised slightly. Maybe it was good to have another guy around? He stole a glance at the girls. They looked like they might need some convincing.  
  
"Come ooooon!" Xander cajoled. "It'll be fun, I promise!"  
  
"I don't know Xan." Buffy hesitated. "What about Finding Nemo?"  
  
"No bloody way are we seeing a movie about some lost fish!" Will exclaimed.  
  
"I heard it was good." Willow offered. "It's an adventure." She grinned at them.  
  
"You want adventure? Sinbad's your man!" Xander tried again.  
  
"Come on ducks. We're sure you'll like it." Will tried as well. "It's got a handsome bloke in it. And adventure on the high seas." He added.  
  
Buffy and Willow looked at each other for a minute. Then they both shrugged. "Okay." They said in unison, then giggled.  
  
Xander and Will broke out in grins.  
  
After getting their tickets they all went into the theater to get good seats. Once they were settled the girls stayed to watch the seats while the guys went to the counter to get popcorn and soda.  
  
"Don't forget the cookie dough bites!" Buffy yelled after the receding pair.  
  
"I'm glad you and Will are friends now." Willow whispered to Buffy after the guys had left.  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, I haven't heard you fighting a lot lately. And he was really sweet at the play. I thought you were friends now." Willow asked, her face scrunching up in confusion.  
  
"Me? Friends with spike head?" Buffy shook her head, dispelling some of the blush that had appeared at Willow's mention of the play. "No way!"  
  
"Oh." Willow looked even more confused.  
  
"I mean yeah. He was kind of nice at the play." She blushed some more, ducking her head and avoiding Willow's eyes. "But that doesn't mean he's *nice*."  
  
"O-kay." Willow drew out the word.  
  
Just then the boys returned, Xander carrying a large popcorn and a couple of drinks. Will handed over Buffy's cookie dough bites and a small drink for her. "Oh, thanks." Was her reply. Will only nodded at her.  
  
Xander poured half of the popcorn into an empty container they had gotten and handed it over to Buffy who promptly placed it on her lap. This left Buffy and Will to share, while Willow and Xander shared the tub.  
  
The theater darkened and the previews began to play. Buffy opened up her cookie dough bites and began to nibble, while Will took handfuls of popcorn and shoved them in his mouth. Buffy heard Willow squeal as Xander took a small sample and tossed them at her face. This caused several people in the room to shush them. Which only made Xander grin even wider.  
  
Halfway through the movie, already done with her cookie dough bites Buffy had her hand in the popcorn container. She was just getting ready to grab a mouthful when a man came out of nowhere and grabbed Sinbad. Buffy screamed and threw her hands up, showering Will with popcorn.  
  
"Bloody heck! What are you doing?" Will whispered harshly. He was busy sweeping popcorn off his shoulders and head. "Are you loony?"  
  
Buffy's bottom lip stuck out as she answered. "I was just surprised." She whispered back.  
  
"It's okay Buffy. See he got away." Willow reassured her, brushing a few stray kernels out of her own hair.  
  
"Sorry Wills." Buffy offered.  
  
"Why don't you say sorry to me?" Will demanded.  
  
"You don't deserve a sorry!"  
  
"Why not? You got more on me than on red."  
  
"So? You were mean!"  
  
"Not before you threw bloody popcorn at me!"  
  
"I didn't mean to!" Buffy's lip was trembling. Why was he always yelling at her?  
  
"Quiet!" They heard from the darkness.  
  
Will turned to look at Buffy, seeing her lip tremble and her eyes widen. Bloody heck. Was she going to start bawling? "Okay, okay. It's no big deal. It's just a movie goldilocks."  
  
She turned away from him. "I know that." She answered stubbornly.  
  
Will sighed, turning back to the movie. Now she was mad again. Why was she always mad? She was the one who threw popcorn at him!  
  
They sat silently and watched the movie until another scary part came up and Buffy jumped in her seat. She was careful not to spill any popcorn this time, but she couldn't help the little yelp that got out of her throat. She braced herself for another sarcastic remark from Will, but instead she felt his hand sneak out and land atop her own. He squeezed once and then left his hand there.  
  
The warmth from her hand served as a firm reminder that she wasn't alone in the theater, and for some reason it made her feel better. She didn't bother to move her hand away, even if she would have to wash away his cooties later. Instead she just continued to watch the movie in silence. 


	16. Summer Vignettes Sunday in the Park wit...

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Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I own absolutely nothing. Joss owns all.  
  
Also I have to say that this fic was inspired by www.roswellunderground.com that has the cutest elementary series ever!  
  
The subtitle comes from one of my fav plays - Sunday in the Park with George. I once saw a Bravo rendition that had Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin in it - awesome!  
  
Hope you like!  
  
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Chapter 16: SUMMER VIGNETTES (Sunday in the Park with Spike)  
  
Tara was swinging happily away as she watched her friends playing around her. Anya was standing by the teeter totter and 'charging' each person that wanted to use it. Tara giggled. Spike was playing along by handing over several small piles of pebbles that he had gathered as 'money'.  
  
Tara's smile stayed intact as she thought about Anya's reaction to Spike's suggestion that they use pebbles as money for the game. "Game? I'm not playing a game. I really think people should pay for the use of the teeter totter. I mean, it's fun for them so they shouldn't mind paying right?" Spike had just shook his head and smiled fondly at her while gathering his first 'payment'. She thought she'd heard one of his funny expressions too; something like "dozy bird."  
  
"Hi Tara." Willow greeted her as she took the swing next to hers.  
  
Tara blushed. She hadn't heard Willow coming and had jumped when she said hello. "H-hi Willow." She stammered shyly.  
  
Just then Xander and Buffy came streaking by running through the sand to get to the jungle gym. "Last one to the top is a monkey's uncle!" Xander screamed as he reached for the first rung on the jungle gym. He grunted in mock anger when he saw Buffy breeze by him. Maybe he shouldn't have eaten those last two twinkies?  
  
When he reached the top Buffy was already smiling triumphantly. He humphed at her and sat down for a good sulk. "Xan! You never beat me!" Buffy laughed even as she patted him on the back. "It's probably just cause I'm lighter." She tried to console him.  
  
From down below Spike looked up and watched as Buffy comforted Xander. He found himself walking toward the jungle gym, and when he was close enough he called up to them, "Always knew there was a reason I called you monkey boy!"  
  
Xander scowled down at him. He guessed their truce from the movie the other day was over. "Shut up *spike head*!" Xander called down to him, emphasizing Buffy's nickname for him.  
  
Will just smirked and then moved back over to the teeter totter to continue pretending with Anya. Just as he got there he heard a small squeal and turned toward the swings quickly.  
  
Willow was standing over Tara, trying to help her back up. When they were both standing Willow turned to the new comer and gave him her 'resolve face'. "You get off those swings right now! We were here first!" She stomped her foot at him, while Tara stood silent and slightly behind her.  
  
Buffy, Anya, Will, and Xander all made their way over to stand by their friends. They arrived just in time to here the fourth grader say with a sneer, "Make me!"  
  
"We're going to make you all right mate." Will came to stand before the girls, giving the bully a hard glare. Xander came to stand next to him. The four girls were standing together, Anya and Buffy giving stern looks to the fourth grade bully.  
  
"Yeah no one treats our girls that way!" Xander jutted his chin out, his little hands balling into fists.  
  
"Oh. You two puny guys think you can take me on?" The boy looked them up and down and clearly found them lacking. Xander and Will threw quick glances at each other but remained in fighting stance. The bully was twice their size but it was two to one after all.  
  
"There are six of us," Buffy stated quietly, taking a step forward. "Not two."  
  
"So now you to losers are gonna let the girls do the fighting for you?" The bully laughed at the thought.  
  
Will threw Buffy a 'stay out of this' look, but she ignored it. "They," she gestured toward Will and Xander, "don't *let* us do anything. We do what we want."  
  
Will rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but be a little impressed. She was at least sticking up for herself.  
  
The other girls were slowly coming around and stepping forward as well; even shy Tara, her courage inflating at the sight of her friends surrounding her. Before he knew it the bully was surrounded by the six of them, his ugly smile faltered a bit, but he stood his ground.  
  
"You gonna leave now mate?" Spike asked casually.  
  
"No way in hell!" The boy answered, making Willow gasp at his curse and Tara blush.  
  
"Not nice to curse in front of ladies mate. Didn't your da ever teach you anything?" Will turned to meet Xander's stare. "Maybe we should teach him a lesson monkey boy? Whaddya think?"  
  
Xander gave Will a mean stare at the use of the nickname but he only nodded.  
  
Together the two boys moved forward. Buffy began to move forward as well, and then there was chaos everywhere. The boys had gotten there first and the bully had started throwing punches and landing a few. Buffy moved in, along with Anya and then it was just a blur of limbs and hits and yelps.  
  
Somehow the boys had managed to pin the bully down, his face in the sand. Xander sat atop him, while Will held his head down and explained the proper way to behave. Before letting him up, Xander made the boy apologize to all the girls. They let him up slowly and he finally slunk away in embarrassment.  
  
After things had quieted down they began to examine each other for bruises and cuts. It didn't look like anyone had been badly hurt. It hadn't taken them that long to pin the boy down especially since there were six of them and only one of him.  
  
As they wandered over to the drinking fountain to wash their hands and faces Will wondered when they had become a group of six, instead of two groups of three. 


End file.
